Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

American Politics

Selected Works

Voting

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Geography Of Racial Stereotyping: Evidence And Implications For Vra Preclearance After Shelby County, Christopher Elmendorf, Douglas Spencer Jun 2014

The Geography Of Racial Stereotyping: Evidence And Implications For Vra Preclearance After Shelby County, Christopher Elmendorf, Douglas Spencer

Douglas M. Spencer

The Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) effectively enjoined the preclearance regime of the Voting Rights Act. The Court deemed the coverage formula, which determines the jurisdictions subject to preclearance, insufficiently grounded in current conditions. This paper proposes a new, legally defensible approach to coverage based on between-state differences in the proportion of voting age citizens who subscribe to negative stereotypes about racial minorities and vote accordingly. The new coverage formula could also account for racially polarized voting and minority population size, but, for constitutional reasons, subjective discrimination by voters is the essential criterion. We demonstrate that the …


Voting Power, Policy Representation, And Disparities In Voting’S Rewards, Brian Newman, John D. Griffin Dec 2012

Voting Power, Policy Representation, And Disparities In Voting’S Rewards, Brian Newman, John D. Griffin

Brian Newman

Reelection-minded officials have motivations to represent some of their constituents more than others when casting roll-call votes. In particular, reelection seekers have incentives to appeal to those with greater “voting power” (Bartels 1998): those who are likely to vote, are not strongly predisposed to vote for one of the parties, and are members of large groups within a particular constituency. We present two novel findings stemming from these incentives. First, we find that those with greater voting power tend to enjoy better policy representation. Second, the rewards of voting are greater for those belonging to groups with more voting power. …


Long Lines At Polling Stations? Observations From An Election Day Field Study, Douglas M. Spencer, Zachary S. Markovits Feb 2010

Long Lines At Polling Stations? Observations From An Election Day Field Study, Douglas M. Spencer, Zachary S. Markovits

Douglas M. Spencer

This pilot study represents the first systematic attempt to determine how common lines are on Election Day, at what times of day lines are most likely to form, what are the bottlenecks in the voting process, and how long it takes an average citizen to cast his or her ballot. This study highlights the importance of evaluating polling station operations as a three-step process: arrival, check-in, and casting a ballot. We collected data during the 2008 presidential primary election in California, measuring the efficiency of the operational components of 30 polling stations across three counties. We found statistically significant, and …


Immigration, José Villalobos Dec 2007

Immigration, José Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

No abstract provided.


Issue Evasion, José Villalobos Dec 2007

Issue Evasion, José Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

No abstract provided.


Twenty-Sixth Amendment, José D. Villalobos Dec 2007

Twenty-Sixth Amendment, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

No abstract provided.


Presidential Election Of 1980, José D. Villalobos Dec 2007

Presidential Election Of 1980, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

No abstract provided.