Ideological Bias in Legislator Contact? Evidence from Witness Slips in Illinois

• In Event: Impact of Money in Politics on Political Elites and Institutions

Abstract

Prior work suggests that representational gaps may arise due to biases in who contacts politicians. However, direct measures of legislator contact by members of the public are elusive. This paper leverages a unique data source: witness slips in the Illinois General Assembly, online forms individuals can use to support or oppose legislation before a committee hearing. Using these expressed positions, we place witnesses on the same ideological scale as legislators. We find that witnesses are located closer to the median Republican state legislator (both in Illinois and the nation as a whole) than the median Democrat; furthermore, conservative witnesses are disproportionately active in filing slips. Additional analyses demonstrate that legislators are more likely to vote for (against) a bill or amendment when witnesses support (oppose) the measure, particularly when slips come from donors or constituents.

Authors

• Michael Kistner, University of Houston

• Michael Pomirchy, Stanford University