Policymaking, Constituency Service, and the Pandemic: How Working Remotely Transformed U.S. State Legislators’ Representative Roles

Abstract

ABSTRACT We surveyed U.S. legislators in 36 states in order to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic – and the related shift to remote work – affected legislators’ representative roles. Our results offer suggestive evidence that remote work during the pandemic diminished policymaking activities while increasing constituency service. Respondents reported decreased ability to move projects forward in the legislature and in their districts, and increased workloads overall. Nonetheless, legislators seem committed to their roles as elected representatives.