Abstract

Partisan bias occurs when one party gets something the other party does not. If a given district map results in one party gleaning a higher proportion of the legislative seats than the proportion of votes cast for that party, since this effect is only possible for one party, then partisan bias has occurred. It can be strategically produced via gerrymandering and is thought by many to circumvent the basic principles of democracy. This study uses recent state election results to compute a measure of partisan bias, as well as secondary data measuring the levels of five state social policies, to assess the effect of gerrymandering on those policies. It also tests whether the state’s redistricting method is related to partisan bias. Partisan bias correlated with, and explained significant variance in, all five social policies measured. The redistricting method was related to the direction and intensity of partisan bias. The results indicate gerrymandering of state districts results in more extreme social policies than the majority of voters prefers.

Document Type

Article

Source Publication

eJournal of Public Affairs

Version

Published Version

Publication Date

9-29-2024

Volume

12

Issue

12.1

Rights

© The Author(s)

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