Monthly Archives: November 2010

Is Utah’s turnout low because it has so many young voters?

Utah’s youth are not to blame for Utah’s lower-than-average turnout. In my last post, I showed that voter turnout in Utah is worse than the lieutenant governor’s statistics imply. I admit that the graph I used then was a bit … Continue reading

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Is Utah’s turnout up or is it down?

When measured correctly, Utah’s voter turnout was a paltry 35%, and it wasn’t the best for a midterm since 1994. The official word from the lieutenant governor’s office is that turnout was great in 2010, the highest for a midterm … Continue reading

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Why is Becky Lockhart the new speaker?

Don’t be too quick to conclude that leadership style alone decided the Speaker’s race, or that outside actors were decisive, or that money bought the Speaker’s race. It looks like Lockhart could have won on ideology alone. Officially, the battle … Continue reading

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Are voters biased against Mormons?

Quoting from James Rydberg at YouGov’s Model Politics blog (emphasis is mine): A recent YouGov survey asked 1000 respondents if they would be willing to vote for “a generally well-qualified person” nominated by their party if they learned that candidate … Continue reading

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Is Utah the most Republican state?

Utah is #1 most Republican, #9 most conservative, and also #17 most conservative. On election day, Utah’s Republicans increased their veto-proof legislative majorities by 5 seats in the House and 1 in the Senate. Does that make Utah the most … Continue reading

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Why did Mike Lee send those emails?

In 2008, some political scientists from Yale found that they could boost turnout considerably (by 8.1 percentage points) if they warned folks that everybody on their street would receive a postcard after the election reporting who had voted and who … Continue reading

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A new blog

I created this blog with the intention of bringing a non-partisan, political science perspective to Utah politics. In the near future, I plan to invite a few colleagues to contribute also. My goal is not to post partisan opinions or … Continue reading

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