California

This article reassesses affective polarization measurement and reports that much partisan animus reflects misperceptions: partisans picture out-party members as ideologically extreme and highly engaged, but typical out-partisans are far less extreme. When respondents learn about the actual distribution of out-party attitudes and engagement, reported animus declines markedly. The paper highlights measurement artifacts and suggests remedies for more accurate assessments of interparty dislike.

This study asks whether policy implementation creates political feedback not only for direct beneficiaries but also for the "policy adjacent" — residents who live near a project but are not its direct recipients. Using a unique, geographically precise case, the analysis identifies how nearby affordable housing systematically shifts neighboring opinions.

Local law enforcement behavior shifts around elections, with county sheriffs reducing traffic fines revenue during election years. Evidence shows a measurable electoral cycle in traffic enforcement that grows larger when races are competitive.

This study investigates how the timing of local elections affects the electoral success of minority candidates and the overall descriptive composition of local officeholders.

This paper asks how voters form policy preferences in nonpartisan contexts by studying residential zoning reform. The author reports fieldwork on a Menlo Park, California zoning initiative and argues that local campaign messages combined ideological information with nonpartisan group cues. The paper then assesses generalizability by documenting similar information in other California zoning campaigns and conducting a survey experiment with Democratic homeowners to test how that information affects opinion.

The adoption of the Top-Two Primary system in California (2012) and Washington shifted primary access but potentially fractured general election voting.

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At-large elections continue to dominate local government across the U.S., despite frequent legal challenges questioning their impact on minority political power. This study addresses ongoing debate by analyzing how transitioning from at-large to ward systems affected Latino representation, especially under specific conditions. Using a unique identification approach enabled by California's 2001 Voting Rights Act, researchers discovered significant positive gains occurred primarily in districts where Latinos represented a large voting share or experienced high residential segregation. Elsewhere, the study found no such effects.

Low and uneven turnout undermines local democracy, and shifting local elections to the same day as national contests is a simple reform that can substantially increase participation. Prior research shows on-cycle November elections generally double local voter turnout compared with stand-alone local contests, but whether higher turnout produces a more representative electorate has been slim and mixed.

Extremist lawmakers saw higher fundraising success during politically polarizing budget shutdowns in California. Financial disclosures from the past 30 years show that outside-party-median representatives raised more funds than their centrist counterparts during these shutdown periods, suggesting a link between polarization and campaign financing for extremists.