The measurement of partisan sorting for 180 million voters

Jacob R. Brown () and Ryan D. Enos ()
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Jacob R. Brown: Harvard University
Ryan D. Enos: Harvard University

Nature Human Behaviour, 2021, vol. 5, issue 8, 998-1008

Abstract: Abstract Segregation across social groups is an enduring feature of nearly all human societies and is associated with numerous social maladies. In many countries, reports of growing geographic political polarization raise concerns about the stability of democratic governance. Here, using advances in spatial data computation, we measure individual partisan segregation by calculating the local residential segregation of every registered voter in the United States, creating a spatially weighted measure for more than 180 million individuals. With these data, we present evidence of extensive partisan segregation in the country. A large proportion of voters live with virtually no exposure to voters from the other party in their residential environment. Such high levels of partisan isolation can be found across a range of places and densities and are distinct from racial and ethnic segregation. Moreover, Democrats and Republicans living in the same city, or even the same neighbourhood, are segregated by party.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01066-z

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