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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 Posts are not peer reviewed and may discuss work in progress that is subject to future revision.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.
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Tag Archives: single member districts
Nationwide, single member districts hurt Democrats
No matter who controls the Utah Legislature, it will be hard for Democrats to win as many legislative seats in Utah as their popular vote might suggest. I wrote recently that single member districts hurt the minority party, whatever the … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged congress, legislature, redistricting, single member districts, urban
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Nationwide, single member districts hurt Democrats
Did gerrymandering produce Republican gains in the Utah Legislature?
Single member districts are always going to give the minority party fewer seats than votes, and the disparity gets larger as the minority party gets smaller. I wrote last week that the 2013 Utah Legislature will be the second-most Republican … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged counties, democrat, legislature, redistricting, representation, republican, salt lake county, single member districts, utah county
1 Comment
Are legislators faithful to their constituents?
The correlation between district partisanship and legislator ideology is not perfect, but it is nevertheless strongly positive. This analysis was performed by Robert Richards, a student research fellow at BYU’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, in collaboration … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged ideology, legislature, nominate, representation, republic, roll call votes, single member districts, student research
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Are legislators faithful to their constituents?
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?
Do single member districts hurt Democrats?