Redistricting and Polarization

Altman, Micah; McDonald, Michael P.

Redistricting and Polarization

Micah Altman & Michael P. McDonald, "Redistricting and Polarization" in Thurber J, Yoshinaka A (eds)., American Gridlock: The Sources, Character, and Impact of Political Polarization. Cambridge University Press; 2015.

38 Pages Posted: 5 Jan 2016

See all articles by Micah Altman

Micah Altman

Center for Research in Equitable and Open Scholarship

Michael P. McDonald

University of Florida

Date Written: January 1, 2015

Abstract

We review how the ideological polarization of members of the House of Representatives (elite polarization) is affected by: ● sorting of parties’ incumbents into more ideologically compatible districts, ● replacement of incumbents by more ideologically extreme successors, ● the drawing of more ideologically extreme districts. ● We show there are fewer competitive congressional districts – having a near balance of Democrats and Republicans – following redistricting. ● We show more competitive districts can be drawn without sacrificing other values, such as compactness or minority representation. ● We discuss the prospects for redistricting reform.

Keywords: redistricting, polarization

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Altman, Micah and McDonald, Michael P., Redistricting and Polarization (January 1, 2015). Micah Altman & Michael P. McDonald, "Redistricting and Polarization" in Thurber J, Yoshinaka A (eds)., American Gridlock: The Sources, Character, and Impact of Political Polarization. Cambridge University Press; 2015., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2710831