Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy > Vol 2 > Issue 2

Do District Attorneys Represent Their Voters? Evidence from California's Era of Criminal Justice Reform

Michael W. Sances, Department of Political Science and Public Policy Lab, Temple University, USA, msances@temple.edu
 
Suggested Citation
Michael W. Sances (2021), "Do District Attorneys Represent Their Voters? Evidence from California's Era of Criminal Justice Reform", Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy: Vol. 2: No. 2, pp 169-197. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/113.00000034

Publication Date: 10 Jun 2021
© 2021 M. W. Sances
 
Subjects
Elections,  Electoral institutions,  Public opinion,  Public policy,  Representation
 
Keywords
Representationdistrict attorneyscriminal justicecongruencedirect democracy
 

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In this article:
Studies of Representation 
District Attorney Representation? 
Why DAs May Be Uniquely out of Step 
Measuring Constituency Opinion 
Measuring District Attorney Positions 
Measuring Representation 
Congruence across Issues and Offices 
Responsiveness across Issues and Offices 
Correlates and Alternative Explanations 
Conclusion 
Appendix 
References 

Abstract

Reformers claim district attorneys (DAs) contribute to mass incarceration by responding to "tough on crime" voters, yet there are no measures of the correspondence between DA and voter preferences. I use a series of criminal justice ballot propositions in California to explore the link between DAs and their constituencies. While voter preferences vary greatly across issues and geography, DAs almost always take the conservative position. They are on the same side as their voters only half the time, and more liberal electorates are only weakly associated with more liberal DAs. DAs are also substantially less representative than other elected officials taking positions on the same issues and facing similar electorates. These results suggest limits to representation among elected criminal justice officials, and among local elected officials in general.

DOI:10.1561/113.00000034

Companion

Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, Volume 2, Issue 2 Special Issue - Local Political Economy
See the other articles that are part of this special issue.