Electoral Politics and Strategic Voting in State Supreme Courts

Abstract

This study suggests that state supreme court justices act strategically to minimize electoral opposition. In order to appease their constituencies, justices who have views contrary to those of the voters and the court majority, and who face competitive electoral conditions will vote with the court majority instead of casting unpopular dissents on politically volatile issues. Using probit, models were estimated of the effects of several types of electoral forces on death penalty votes from 1983 through 1988 in four southern state supreme courts. Results indicate that single-member districts, beginning at the end of a term, prior representational service, narrow vote margins and experience in seeking reelection encourage minority justices to be attentive to their constituencies by voting in accordance with constituent opinion. In essence, constituency influence in state supreme courts is enhanced by competitive electoral conditions and experience with electoral politics.