Race, roll calls, and redistricting: The impact of race-based redistricting on congressional roll-call

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2001

Abstract

The congressional redistricting following the 1990 Census resulted in the creation of a number of majority-minority congressional districts. While the descriptive representation of various minority groups in the U.S. House was increased as a result, there is some question about how these changes affected the roll-call behavior of incumbent House members whose districts underwent a change in racial composition following redistricting. We explore the effect of changes in district racial composition associated with the creation of majority-minority districts on the roll-call behavior of members of the U.S. House. Our findings indicate that, as the black population in a district changes following redistricting, House incumbents respond with changes in their roll-call behavior. The strongest effects are found among House incumbents representing districts that underwent large changes (i.e., 10 percent or greater) in black constituency composition; these members exhibit substantial changes in their roll-call liberalism in response to changes in the racial composition of their districts brought on by redistricting. Overall, our findings point to the importance of considering both the dynamic element of representation and possible nonlinear effects in reaching an understanding of the effects of race-based redistricting.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Political Research Quarterly

First Page

31

Last Page

51

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