The Impact of Partisan Gerrymandering on Political Parties

50 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2019 Last revised: 24 Nov 2019

See all articles by Nicholas Stephanopoulos

Nicholas Stephanopoulos

Harvard Law School

Christopher Warshaw

George Washington University - Department of Political Science

Date Written: August 21, 2019

Abstract

The relationship between votes and seats in the legislature lies at the heart of democratic governance. However, there has been little previous work on the downstream effects of partisan gerrymandering on the health of political parties. In this study, we conduct a comprehensive examination of the impact of partisan advantage in the districting process on an array of downstream outcomes. We find that districting bias impedes numerous party functions at both the congressional and state house levels. Candidates are less likely to contest districts when their party is disadvantaged by a districting plan. Candidates that do choose to run are more likely to have weak resumes. Donors are less willing to contribute money. And ordinary voters are less apt to support the targeted party. These results suggest that gerrymandering has long-term effects on the health of the democratic process beyond simply costing or gaining parties seats in the legislature.

Keywords: gerrymandering, representation, elections

JEL Classification: H10

Suggested Citation

Stephanopoulos, Nicholas and Warshaw, Chris, The Impact of Partisan Gerrymandering on Political Parties (August 21, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3330695 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3330695

Nicholas Stephanopoulos

Harvard Law School ( email )

Chris Warshaw (Contact Author)

George Washington University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Washington, DC 20052
United States

HOME PAGE: chriswarshaw.com

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
890
Abstract Views
6,329
Rank
49,400
PlumX Metrics