Who voted “no” in the 2012 Utah legislature?
Some legislators vote “no” far more often than others. You might expect this to reflect partisanship: In a Republican-dominated body, you would expect more “no” votes from Democrats than from...
View ArticleParty support scores for the 2012 Utah legislature
Which legislators are most partisan in their legislative voting? A legislator’s “party support” score measures the percentage of the time that he votes the same as as the majority of his party. If a...
View ArticleRecap: What have we learned about the 2012 Utah legislature?
In case the whirlwind of posts analyzing the 2012 legislative session has been overwhelming, here’s a quick recap. I’ll be slowing down from here out. Who sponsored the most bills in 2012? Quick...
View ArticleEvaluating the Senate’s second reading calendar
I posted earlier about absentee rates in the 2012 Utah legislature. There’s been some discussion in the comments about the second versus third reading calendars in the Senate. Here’s some data....
View ArticleThe Utah legislature passes far more bills than Congress
As I prepped some lecture data for my Congress course today, I was surprised at something I hadn’t noticed before: Congress passes far fewer laws than the Utah legislature. I did a double take. How...
View ArticleWhy pollsters should release their topline results
The Tribune reported a Mason-Dixon poll last week suggesting a wide Republican advantage in the race for Salt Lake County mayor. Yesterday, the Tribune published a new story with “revised” results...
View ArticleNo, Utah will not have 80% turnout
Important note (November 20, 2012). The turnout numbers below rely on data from Michael McDonald. He has updated his VEP numbers for Utah, so the turnout percentages I give below (and the denominator I...
View ArticleWhat the election shows: That social science works
Over the past several months, political scientists have consistently forecasted an Obama victory–a relatively narrow one, but a victory nonetheless. And, in the end, that’s exactly what happened...
View ArticleWhich Utah pollsters correctly predicted the election results?
In the two weeks prior to the election, several pollsters tried their hand at forecasting the election results in Utah’s various races. I thought I’d find all the predictions and put them into a single...
View Article2012 was Utah’s most Republican-leaning presidential vote since statehood
I just noticed something interesting while playing with the 2012 presidential election results for Utah. By one metric, it appears Utah may have been more Republican in 2012 than in any previous...
View ArticleThe closest votes in the 2013 Legislature
It has long been tradition that floor votes in the Utah Legislature pass with overwhelming majorities taking the same side. Democrats and Republicans alike tend to get behind the same bills. That being...
View ArticleHow quickly were bills passed in 2013?
In 2013, the Utah Legislature passed more bills than it’s passed since I started keeping track (in 2007). A total of 748 bills were introduced, of which 581 made it to a floor vote, of which 524 were...
View ArticleWho voted “nay” most often in the 2013 Utah Legislature?
Although most votes in the Utah Legislature pass with overwhelming 90+% majorities, there are some legislators who really like to vote “nay.” There aren’t enough of them that many votes actually fail,...
View ArticleRecap: Looking back at the 2013 Utah Legislature
I’ve posted tons of stats about the Utah Legislature in the past couple days. To recap, here’s a quick summary of some of what you can now find here: Do legislators work enough to justify their salary?...
View ArticleThe Utah legislature passes far more bills than Congress
As I prepped some lecture data for my Congress course today, I was surprised at something I hadn’t noticed before: Congress passes far fewer laws than the Utah legislature. I did a double take. How...
View ArticleWhy pollsters should release their topline results
The Tribune reported a Mason-Dixon poll last week suggesting a wide Republican advantage in the race for Salt Lake County mayor. Yesterday, the Tribune published a new story with “revised” results...
View ArticleUtah’s Supreme Court, where unanimity is the rule
The five Justices serving on Utah’s Supreme Court are the final word when it comes to interpreting Utah law and Utah’s Constitution, yet they labor mostly in obscurity, without attracting the sort of...
View ArticleNew ideology ratings for the Utah Legislature
Two years ago I released ideology scores for each Utah legislator who served between 2007 and 2011. Today I’m releasing an update that extends the scores through 2013. (Thanks to my research assistant,...
View ArticleWhat kind of Republican is Spencer Cox?
Governor Gary Herbert has nominated Spencer Cox to replace Greg Bell as Utah’s new Lieutenant Governor. Few outside the Legislature had heard Cox’s name before the governor’s announcement. Even within...
View ArticleDoes it matter that the Utah Senate votes twice on each bill?
There’s an odd thing about the Utah Legislature. The Utah House holds only one debate and vote on each bill, but the Utah Senate holds two debates and two votes on each bill. Let’s ask three questions...
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