Author Archives: Adam Brown

About Adam Brown

Adam Brown is an associate professor of political science at Brigham Young University and a research fellow with the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. You can learn more about him at his website.

Bills were introduced later, passed faster in 2012 session

In 2008, 44% of bills were introduced on day 1. In 2012, only 28% were introduced on day 1. Now that the 2012 session of the Utah legislature has wrapped up, what can we observe? For one thing, it appears … Continue reading

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Who sponsored the most bills in 2012?

As hard as he worked, Rep. Dougall was not the most active bill sponsor this session. By any measure, that was Sen. Bramble. I’ve seen a few media reports claiming that Utah Rep. John Dougall sponsored more bills than any … Continue reading

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Cage match: Herrod v Liljenquist

On bills that pass, Liljenquist and Herrod agree 97% of the time. Chris Herrod has served in the Utah House since 2007. Dan Liljenquist served in the Utah Senate from 2009 through 2011. Both want to replace Orrin Hatch in … Continue reading

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Fact check: The audacity of nope

Dan Liljenquist did indeed cast fewer “nay” votes than average during his time as a state senator. A couple weeks, Dan Liljenquist posted a campaign video called “Audacity of Nope” to Youtube. In brief, he argued that the government should … Continue reading

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Why is Utah’s turnout falling?

In the 1980s, Utah ranked in the top 10 for voter turnout; since 2006, Utah has ranked in the bottom 5. Why? Earlier today, I wrote about Utah’s declining turnout, and about claims made yesterday in a legislative committee that … Continue reading

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Purging Utah’s voter rolls will not boost turnout

Utah’s abysmal turnout is not caused by bloated registration rolls. It is caused by citizens choosing not to participate. Yesterday, a legislative committee debated legislation that would remove a citizen from the voter registration rolls if he or she fails … Continue reading

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How many bills were ready on day one?

Legislators may be showing an increased willingness to run legislation that has not been subject to a thorough vetting during the interim months. The Utah legislature opened its 2012 general session today. From a quick count, it appears that 211 … Continue reading

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Profiles of Utah legislators

The 2012 legislative session is coming. Here’s a couple of things to help you get ready. First, I’ve taken data that I’ve written about in the past (such as ideology scores, legislator absenteeism, bill sponsorship activity, and floor power) and … Continue reading

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Be careful with district maps

Media outlets would be wise to verify that they have the correct district maps. I’m just now catching up on all the news from the past few days. It looks like people might be a little confused about district maps. … Continue reading

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Is Huntsman more electable than Romney?

Gamblers are more willing to bet their money that Huntsman can beat Obama than that Romney can. Intrade runs betting markets on just about everything. Because people are putting money on the line, the current intrade share prices can be … Continue reading

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