(iPoster) The Role of Information in Generating Split State Legislatures

• In Event: Poster Session: New Perspectives in Political Science Research: Scholarship by Vanderbilt REU Students

Abstract

Over the last several decades, political polarization has become a fact of political life in the United States. Yet, we continue to witness state legislatures that are divided between the two parties. While an abundance of literature exists on this phenomenon at the national level, the state level literature exploring the factors that influence splitting, is sparse. Scholars have long argued that split legislative control, where a state’s upper and lower houses are controlled by different parties, can be generated by purposeful ticket splitting among voters. However, I contend that this behavior requires a great deal of information about the political environment. I use the number of news reporters in a state as a proxy for voters’ access to information. My results indicate that the number of local reporters is positively correlated with the likelihood that the state will have a split legislature. These findings demonstrate the important role official news sources play in the partisan composition of state governments.

Author

• Berkley Ponce, Baylor University