The Votes-Seats Relationship in State Legislative Elections

Abstract

One of the most important concerns in democratic political systems is the translation of citizens' votes into seats in representative bodies. Drawing on the literature involving the cube law, the article examines the votes-seats relationship for elections to the lower houses of U.S. state legislatures over the period 1976-1984. The model permitted an examination of the concepts of electoral bias and representation (majoritarianism). The analysis indicated that some degree of bias exists in the states, and they tend more toward a proportional votes-seats relationship than has generally been found for Congress and comparative legislative bodies.