Department or Program

Politics

Abstract

This thesis is a case study of the strategies used by political parties to maintain one-party control at the state level. The New Hampshire House of Representatives, an unusually large chamber with 400 members, is studied. The Republican Party was able to maintain control of the House for almost 80 years, even when two-party competition arose in the state in the 1990s and Democrats were winning seats at the top of the ticket. To explain how they were able to maintain control, this thesis examines the use of redistricting, floterial districts, and ballot design to highlight the political strategies used by the party. An analysis of both the intended and unanticipated consequences of institutional design as well as the interplay and sequencing of the strategies explain how Republicans manipulated electoral institutions and translated votes into seats in order to protect a party’s majority in the legislature

Level of Access

Open Access

First Advisor

Baughman, John

Date of Graduation

Spring 5-2013

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Number of Pages

189

Components of Thesis

1 pdf file

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