Suchergebnisse

Based on 1972-1990 election data for Fla, the effects of structural changes on two processes that limit the number of women elected to public office -- the opportunities to gain office, & decisions by nonincumbents to contest for office -- are analyzed. It is suggested that the proportion of women serving in the Fla legislature increased in 1982 because the opportunities to gain office increased, as did the proportion of women candidates. Requiring elections in all senate districts clearly helped women candidates because the effects of incumbency were reduced. Decisions by incumbents & nonincumbent candidates were also partially responsible for the increase in women's representation. This pattern may be explained in terms of the structural changes that influence the decisions of electoral elites: when elites operate in a fairly stable electoral environment, a consensus based on past experience often develops with respect to which incumbents are vulnerable & when nonincumbents can gain office. The Fla experience suggests that the attitudes of various actors in the electoral arena are a barrier to women's recruitment in "normal" elections, since electoral elites' opinions concerning who can win are generally based on past election outcomes & serve as a barrier to increased representation of an outgroup. 3 Tables, 5 References. Adapted from the source document.

Factors contributing to election of women; case study of the 1982 Florida legislative elections.

THE AUTHOR SEEKS TO EXPLAIN WHY SOME LEGISLATIVE INCUMBENTS ATTRACT CHALLENGERS WHILE OTHERS DO NOT BY ANALYZING DECISIONS TO CHALLENGE IN RACES FOR THE FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BETWEEN 1972 AND 1980. ALTHOUGH SHE FINDS LITTLE EVIDENCE OF STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING AMONG CHALLENGERS IN PRIMARY ELECTIONS, INCUMBENTS WHO APPEAR TO BE VULNERABLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE CHALLENGED IN GENERAL ELECTIONS. CONDITIONS THAT ARE LESS DIRECTLY UNDER AN INCUMBENT'S INFLUENCE ARE MORE LIKELY TO INFLUENCE DECISIONS TO CHALLENGE.

This research note identified a consistent trend in legislative elections at both the national and state levels. All but nine states can be classified by two criteria—one of the parties was a majority in both the U.S. House delegation and state legislature in the 1980s, and the same party gained seats in both legislative bodies following the 1950s. The Democratic Party gained or maintained a majority of seats in both U.S. House delegations and state legislatures in 32 states during the 30 years characterized by increases in divided government at both the national and state level. Explanations for Democratic dominance of legislatures that focus upon congressional elections only are too level specific.

Examines whether the two major policies in effect in 1988, state restrictions on Medicaid financing of abortion and state requirements for parental consent/notification for minors, explain variation in rates; US.