Full Citation

Title: Partisan Geographic Sorting: Evidence from Voter Files

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2017

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Abstract: The geographic distribution of political preferences in the US is highly correlated with population density, at national, state, and metropolitan-area scales. Using new data from voter registration records, we assess the extent to which this pattern can be explained by geographic mobility. We find that the revealed preferences of voters who move from one residence to another correlate with partisanship, though voters appear to be sorting on nonpolitical neighborhood attributes that covary with partisan preferences rather than explicitly seeking politically congruent neighbors. However, a simulation study reveals that the estimated partisan bias in moving choices is far too small to sustain the current geographic distribution of preferences. We conclude that geography must have some influence on political preference, rather than the other way around, and provide evidence in support of this theory.

Url: http://polisci.emory.edu/faculty/gjmart2/papers/partisan_sorting_density.pdf

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Authors: Martin, Gregory J; Webster, Steven

Publisher: Emory University

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Housing and Segregation, Other

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