Who are we?
We are professors of political science sharing academic research relevant to Utah. Posts are not peer reviewed and may discuss work in progress that is subject to future revision. Learn more. Each post reflects only its author’s views.
Hear about new posts
Twitter @poliARB
Archives
Tag Archives: measurement
Who is REALLY the most conservative Utah legislator?
Interest group ratings are certainly useful, but it turns out there’s a much, much better way to figure out which legislators are most conservative and most liberal. Credit where it’s due: Robert Richards, my undergraduate research assistant extraordinaire, contributed heavily … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged ideology, legislature, measurement, nominate, rankings, roll call votes
2 Comments
Will Utah’s redistricting committee be biased?
Speaker Lockhart and President Waddoups apparently did not try to stack the redistricting committee. Yesterday, legislative leaders announced which members of the Utah legislature would serve on the redistricting committee. Let’s consider which groups are well represented on this committee … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged bias, ideology, legislature, measurement, rankings, redistricting, republic, utah county
2 Comments
Who has the decisive vote in the Utah legislature?
In 2011 the legislators with the most floor power were Sen. Stuart Adams and Rep. Don Ipson. If we look at floor votes in the Utah House and Senate, who are the most powerful legislators? Hint: It’s not the Speaker … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged backdoor power, floor power, ideology, leadership, legislature, measurement, median voter theorem, rankings, roll call votes, senate president, speaker of the house
Comments Off on Who has the decisive vote in the Utah legislature?
Who has the decisive vote in the Utah legislature?
Was HB 410 a bipartisan battle between moderates and ideologues?
It’s extremely unusual that the legislators in the center would team up to vote against the legislators at the extremes. Something weird happened today in the Utah legislature. The Utah House of Representatives voted on Becky Edwards’s HB 410, but … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged ideology, immigration, leadership, legislature, measurement, partisanship, roll call votes
3 Comments
More on whether good Mormons can be good Democrats
If it’s hard to persuade Mormon Republicans to cross party lines and vote for a Democrat, that’s because it’s hard to persuade anybody to cross party lines. Sometimes, people lie to pollsters. Not always, of course. But if you ask … Continue reading
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
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
Posted in Everything
Tagged greg bell, measurement, turnout
Comments Off on Is Utah’s turnout up or is it down?
Is Utah’s turnout up or is it down?