👀 Local governments often take "symbolic" stances on issues where they hold no authority or jurisdiction. @simko.bsky.social and Taran Samarth examine the dynamics and purpose of "symbolic representation" by studying the response of US local governments to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. #APSA2025

Trump’s proposed rush job Census isn’t just immoral and regressive—it will harm communities across the country and compromise data quality: @chriskenny.bsky.social and I in @thehill.com today: thehill.com/opinion/camp...

Do you use tract boundaries in your research? Jake Brown, @simko.bsky.social, and I have a new working paper (osf.io/preprints/so...): Any Way You Slice It: Racial Segregation Statistics are Robust to Aggregation Bias We show that tract-level segregation is robust to MAUP using simulation methods.

Among those who selected cell phones as most important issue, we asked their support for banning all cell phones

"shifts in political geography and gerrymandering reduced the number of highly competitive districts by over 25% [from 2010 to 2020], with geographic polarization driving most of the decline."

In our polarized political environment, I’m excited to share my new ASR publication: “Competence over Partisanship: Party Affiliation Does Not Affect the Selection of School District Superintendents”. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Great article, and a good example of the continuing value of public, open source research tools (we published these simulations in 2022). When new claims and arguments arise, anyone can use existing resources to examine them.

You may have noticed things are happening fast in the world of redistricting… I along with @maxwellpalmer.com and @simko.bsky.social wrote an article last week (though published today) that analyzes the changes to the congressional district map in Texas, and particularly San Antonio.

Texas was already arguably the biggest Republican gerrymander in the nation, according to this PNAS paper by @chriskenny.bsky.social @corymccartan.com @simko.bsky.social @shirokuriwaki.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

It’s publication day!!🎊 In a new Urban Affairs Review @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social piece, Rebecca Johnson, Tyler Simko @simko.bsky.social & I ask: How do you measure conflict in local politics in the United States? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Is government suspicion based on real lived experiences and historic harm? #ISRNextGeneration scholar Franshelly Martinez-Ortiz writes on the case of Michigan, where events like the Flint Water Crisis give rise to lasting mistrust. @maraceci.bsky.social #MPSA2025 ➡️ cpsblog.isr.umich.edu?p=3434

Had a fantastic time presenting Tabling Debates How Local Officials Use Agenda Control to Stifle Conflict (paper w @simko.bsky.social) at Cornell today. Huge thanks to @talbotmandrews.bsky.social for the invite and everyone for showing me such a good time!

Urban–rural cleavages are seen as a defining political divide. But does this polarization hold worldwide? My new working paper tests this question using an original dataset of granular, geocoded election returns from 106 countries (polling station-level in 70). (1/8)

How can state and local government partnerships help to safeguard US official statistics when they are under assault? Find out in my @univpressofkansas.bsky.social book, "Counting Like a State". Preorder for a 30% discount with code 24COUNTING here: kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700639687/

As a first-generation college student, I found it difficult to adjust to university academics and the “hidden curriculum.” How can universities help students ease this transition? In a new RCT, we (Rebecca Johnson, Kosuke Imai) show “summer bridge” programs can be valuable tools: shorturl.at/WS9Kf

Are Democratic leaders making cities more dangerous than Republicans? Trump + others have repeatedly made claims like this. New paper in Science Advances w/ @chriswarshaw.bsky.social, Dan Jones & Matt Harvey shows that, in short, the answer is no.

Still need a New Year’s resolution? Study school boards! About 100k (and growing) school board meetings over the last decade + text transcripts, with access to raw audio and video data. From us (@mirya.bsky.social + Rebecca Johnson) to you — coming your way soon. 🫡

Agenda setting power in politics means controlling which issues get attention. But who sets the agenda in environments without political parties or low barriers which items get attention? In "Tabling Debates" @simko.bsky.social & I study school boards to find out! osf.io/bzne2

Thanks @mirya.bsky.social! See descriptives on when / where nationally salient partisan language appears in local politics (“climate change,” “gun control,” etc.). Identifiably partisan language is (1) common, (2) especially in larger cities, and (3) local D / R “slant” correlates with pres. vote.