The Political Segregation of the United States

Abstract

The federal bicameral legislature (House of Representatives and Senate; Congress) of the United States of America (U.S.; America) is currently dysfunctional, in that it is unable to pass legislation to address important issues such as immigration reform, student loan relief, minimum wage, budget reform, and economic development. This dysfunction is usually attributed to the intransigence of America’s two ruling political parties, the liberal-leaning Democratic Party and the conservative-leaning Republican Party. This intransigence has led to a situation in which most legislators refuse to compromise with legislators from other political parties.I show that dysfunctional government in the U.S. is largely a byproduct of “political segregation’: a phenomenon in which liberals tend to relocate to live in areas where liberal voters are in the majority, and conservatives tend to relocate to live in areas where conservative voters are in the majority. I analyze U.S. presidential election data by state from 1824-2012, and show that a shift occurred in voting behavior for key American states. I believe that this political shift began to occur after 1976, and I explore some of the reasons for these political trends. I review and discuss the psychological literature related to voting behavior.I hypothesize that individual U.S. federal legislators are following the wishes of the vast majority of voters in their districts, and that dysfunctional government is a byproduct of political segregation, and is not simply a function of the intransigence of individual legislators.Finally, I discuss my results and offer some suggestions for reducing political dysfunction in the United States.