Redistricting and Party Polarization in the U.S. House of Representatives

Carson, Jamie L.; Crespin, Michael H.; Finocchiaro, Charles J.; Rohde, David W.

doi:10.1177/1532673x07304263

Cited by 134 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Um dos trabalhos seminais na literatura foi o desenvolvido por Poole e Rosenthal (1997). Contrariando a consolidada ideia de que os interesses locais do eleitorado dos congressistas norte-americanos é a influência dominante na formação das preferências dos mesmos (ver Mayhew, 1974e Fiorina, 1974 (Carson, Crespin, Ficocchiaro and Rohde, 2007).…”

Section: Dimensionalidade Da Política E Nível De Conflito Interpartidunclassified

Comportamento legislativo e política externa na América Latina

Ribeiro¹

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Section: Dimensionalidade Da Política E Nível De Conflito Interpartidunclassified

Comportamento legislativo e política externa na América Latina

Ribeiro¹

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“…Noting that polarization levels have been higher in the House, which can be gerrymandered, compared to the Senate which is ungerrymanderable, Carson et al found that congressional districts which have been significantly altered due to the redistricting process tend to be more extreme even after controlling for how safe the seat is and electoral replacement rates (Carson, Crespin, Finocchiaro, & Rohde, 2007). However, some of what might be captured in measuring the effects of gerrymandering could actually be a result of Americans following a trend of living near other like-minded partisans (Bishop, 2008).…”

Section: Redistricting and Polarizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarization, Inequality, and the State Legislatures

May¹,

Pirch²

2016

JPL

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While legislative polarization at the national level has been carefully examined and largely explained, the causes of polarization in state legislatures have been more elusive. Studies examining factors such as gerrymandering and party primaries as possible explanations have found largely undetectable or at best very modest relationships between these variables and levels of polarization. This paper provides an explanation of state legislative polarization based on socio-economic and demographic factors within the states. Economics and demographics have long played a significant role in understanding party choice, vote choice, the decision to abstain or vote, and support for various policies. Because of this we explore if these factors also influence polarization of state legislatures. Utilizing the Shorr-McCarty polarization data for state legislatures, which provides the differences between the mean Democratic and Republican legislator scores, and controlling for important economic and demographic factors, we explain a significant amount of the polarization existing in state legislatures. These findings present a fascinating look into not only the root causes of polarization in state legislatures, but also point to some fundamental differences in politics and ideology at the state and national levels.

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“…Both strategies are criticized as being unfair to voters because they lead to uncompetitive districts, in which voters in the partisan minority have little opportunity to elect a representative who shares their policy preferences. Moreover, uncompetitive districts may contribute to political polarization by increasing the likelihood that ideologically extreme candidates will be elected (Carson, Crespin, Finocchiaro, and Rohde 2007; but see McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal 2009). …”

Section: The Redistricting Process and Political Motivationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redistricting in the Classroom: A Module for Inductive Learning

Doherty

Ryan

2014

APSC

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We describe a hands-on teaching module on the redistricting process for use in undergraduate classes. Students engage in the process of strategically drawing district lines, which allows them to inductively understand gerrymandering and its consequences. The module also encourages students to consider the many factors that complicate eff orts to identify a "fair" approach to redistricting, focusing on communities of interest. We also discuss a number of extensions to the activity and provide examples of controversial districts that may be used to illustrate various redistricting concepts. David Doherty is an assistant professor in the department Many of the concepts at the heart of political science focus on how confl icts among competing interests can and should be resolved. In our experience, students often come to class harboring expectations that there is an objectively correct way to resolve these confl icts and structure political institutions. Indeed, research suggests that much of the public believes that many of the thorniest political problems could be solved if political actors would simply eschew their own self-interest, stop responding to special interests, and do "what we all know is right" (see, e.g., Hibbing and Theiss-Morse 2002).The process of redistricting off ers a straightforward way to engage students with the ambiguity involved in establishing fair political processes as well as to familiarize them with a salient and controversial component of the American political system. In this article, we present an in-class module that is suitable for use in classes on introductory American politics, Congress, campaigns and elections, and other related topics. The module proceeds in three stages and can be implemented in a 50-to 60-minute class period. It also may be extended in a variety of ways for longer class meetings, and we encourage instructors to customize their module depending on the needs of their particular class. The module is built around simple hands-on activities that provide a framework for students to refl ect on the strategic and normative considerations that shape debates about the redistricting process.Developing a curriculum that allows students to engage in experiential or "active" learning is important because it encourages classroom participation, promotes a deeper understanding of material, and "give[s] life and immediacy to the subject matter" (McCarthy and Anderson 2000). Furthermore, experiential learning is particularly useful in introductory courses that encompass a broad range of material and are geared toward a wide range of student interests and backgrounds (Montgomery, Brown, and Deery 1997). Instructors have an especially important obligation in American politics courses to encourage the development of students as active citizens in American democracy who can think critically about political issues and processes (Westheimer and Kahne 2004). Other than the pedagogical advantages of hands-on learning, activities that involve participation by students rather than rel...

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Redistricting and Party Polarization in the U.S. House of Representatives

Cited by 134 publications

References 25 publications

Comportamento legislativo e política externa na América Latina

Comportamento legislativo e política externa na América Latina

Polarization, Inequality, and the State Legislatures

Redistricting in the Classroom: A Module for Inductive Learning

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