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 Posts are not peer reviewed and may discuss work in progress that is subject to future revision.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: imbalance
Were Democrats able to pass their bills this year?
The numbers tell a different story: Democratic bills received less favorable treatment than last year. Before the 2013 Utah Legislative session started up, I wrote a post noting that Democrats have seen remarkable success in recent years at passing their … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged backdoor power, democrat, imbalance, leadership, legislature, partisanship, republic, senate president, speaker of the house
Comments Off on Were Democrats able to pass their bills this year?
Legislative Democrats have had more of their bills considered in recent years
Democrats were more successful at getting their bills considered in 2012 than in previous years. Republicans have held a veto-proof supermajority in the Utah Legislature for years. The 2012 elections gave them even more control, bringing us the second most … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged backdoor power, democrat, imbalance, leadership, legislature, partisanship, republican, senate president, speaker of the house
Comments Off on Legislative Democrats have had more of their bills considered in recent years
How badly were legislative districts gerrymandered in 2001?
Although Democrats win 30% of the Utah House votes statewide but only 23% of the seats, we cannot conclude that partisan gerrymandering is to blame. If you add up all the votes cast for Utah House candidates statewide in 2010, … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged counties, demographics, imbalance, legislature, redistricting, single member districts, utah county
3 Comments
Do single member districts hurt Democrats?
Even without a partisan gerrymander, Democrats cannot win a full 30% of seats unless Democratic voters are clustered in an optimal way. In 2010, Democrats won only 17 of the 75 seats in the Utah House of Representatives. That’s 23% … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged imbalance, partisanship, redistricting, single member districts
Comments Off on Do single member districts hurt Democrats?
Which counties have moved most to the right?
Every county (except Kane) became more Republican between 1992 and 2008. Many became WAY more Republican. In our last post, we looked at Utah’s continuing movement toward the GOP during the 2000s. Today, we’ll look to see which specific counties … Continue reading
Could Republicans win all four U.S. House districts?
This movement toward the GOP represents a continuation of a rightward trend that began decades ago In a few days, we’ll post Census data showing that Hispanics (who often vote Democratic) have become a larger percentage of the state’s population. … Continue reading
Redistricting backgrounders
Over the next couple weeks, we will publish several posts looking at Utah’s ongoing redistricting process. We’ll begin by looking closely at the 2010 U.S. Census results and discussing what they might mean for redistricting. We’ll also take a look … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged commentary, counties, demographics, imbalance, immigration, jim matheson, legislature, partisanship, redistricting
Comments Off on Redistricting backgrounders
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
Posted in Everything
Tagged imbalance, partisanship, polls
Comments Off on Is Utah the most Republican state?
Redistricting backgrounders – What have we learned?
Over the past few weeks, we’ve posted a ridiculous amount of research about the redistricting process here in Utah. What have we learned? Here’s the Cliff Notes version. Looking back: How has Utah’s population grown since 2000? Utah’s population is … Continue reading →