1

Paper

Bias and Responsiveness in Multiparty and Multigroup Representation Monroe, Burt L. Uploaded 07-21-1998 Keywords partisan bias responsiveness seats and votes electoral systems compositional data JudgeIt Abstract There is an extensive and expanding literature that examines methods for estimating the responsiveness and partisan bias of two-party electoral systems. Attempts to extend these methods into the multiparty domain appropriate for the vast majority of electoral systems, or to the analysis of the representation of other types of groups (e.g., regions, ethnic groups), have been limited. I describe index, multiyear, uniform swing, and variable swing methods -- along with novel graphical displays -- for analyzing seats-votes curves, bias, and responsiveness in multiparty systems. The variable swing method is a multiparty generalization of Gelman and King's "JudgeIt" model. Examples discussed include elections in the UK, Mauritius, and Costa Rica, and geographic representation worldwide. In comparing the various methods it is argued that variable swing is ideal for most applications, that uniform swing and index methods provide useful answers to a limited set of questions despite faulty assumptions, and that multiyear methods are generally not useful.

2

Paper

Competing Redistricting Plans as Evidence of Political Motives:The North Carolina Case Gronke, Paul Wilson, J. Matthew Uploaded 00-00-0000 Keywords redistricting congress judgeit Abstract Redistricting is a thoroughly political act, but the political strategies of the various actors have often been lost in legal and representational arguments. While not discounting the importance of these issues, this paper looks at one set of actors in redistricting --- state legislators --- and examines how they might pursue their own interests during redistricting. Using the 1992 redistricting in North Carolina as a preliminary case study, the paper presents a brief description of the redistricting process, describes the particular circumstances in the state, and presents some comparative analyses of eight redistricting plans. Our findings indicate that members sought to balance individual and partisan interests when proposing plans and that, at least sometimes, individual ambition outweighed partisan loyalty.