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.

Cage match: Casey Anderson vs Evan Vickers

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Adam Brown

Rep. Vickers and Sen. Anderson disagree relatively often for members of the same party. Sen. Casey Anderson (R-Cedar City) was appointed last year to serve out the remainder of Sen. Dennis Stowell’s term after his death from cancer. Rep. Vickers … Continue reading →

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Cage match: Patrick Painter vs Ralph Okerlund

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Adam Brown

Rep. Painter and Sen. Okerlund don’t disagree very often. Correction (April 3, 2012): A database error caused my query to omit roughly half of the votes held each year. The omitted votes were roughly random, so the general patterns aren’t … Continue reading →

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Cage match: Craig Frank vs John Valentine

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Adam Brown

Rep. Frank and Sen. Valentine disagree on 7-10% of the bills that pass. Correction (April 3, 2012): A database error caused my query to omit roughly half of the votes held each year. The omitted votes were roughly random, so … Continue reading →

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Evaluating the Senate’s second reading calendar

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Adam Brown

Absenteeism is, indeed, higher on the second reading. I posted earlier about absentee rates in the 2012 Utah legislature. There’s been some discussion in the comments about the second versus third reading calendars in the Senate. Here’s some data. Background: … Continue reading →

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Recap: What have we learned about the 2012 Utah legislature?

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Adam Brown

In case the whirlwind of posts analyzing the 2012 legislative session has been overwhelming, here’s a quick recap. I’ll be slowing down from here out. Who sponsored the most bills in 2012? Quick answer: Sen. Curt Bramble, any way you … Continue reading →

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Party support scores for the 2012 Utah legislature

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Adam Brown

Which legislators are most partisan in their legislative voting? A legislator’s “party support” score measures the percentage of the time that he votes the same as as the majority of his party. If a House Democrat votes “aye,” and so … Continue reading →

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Who voted “no” in the 2012 Utah legislature?

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Adam Brown

Both chambers saw the most “no” votes come from a member of the Republican majority. Some legislators vote “no” far more often than others. You might expect this to reflect partisanship: In a Republican-dominated body, you would expect more “no” … Continue reading →

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Utah legislators with the best and worst attendance records of 2012

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Adam Brown

The 2012 legislative session saw a modest decline in legislator absenteeism. In 2011, 7.1% of Representatives missed a typical vote in the Utah House, whereas 14.3% of Senators missed a typical vote in the Utah Senate. These numbers dropped somewhat … Continue reading →

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The Utah legislature’s 20 closest votes in 2012

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Adam Brown

Yesterday, I wrote that narrow votes are extremely rare in the Utah legislature, as are party-line votes. Instead, the legislature shows a clear preference for consensus voting, with majorities of Democrats and Republicans voting on the same side. Of course, … Continue reading →

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Consensus voting is still the norm in Utah legislature

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Adam Brown

The frequency of consensus voting should provide reassurance that the legislative process works much of the time. Congress is known for its partisan wrangling and party-line votes, but the environment is completely different in the Utah legislature. Here in Utah, … Continue reading →

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