Voter migration is a significant factor in the geographic sorting of the American electorate

Almost any electoral map of the United States clearly shows an association between political beliefs and geography; states in the South and Midwest tend to vote Republican, while the West Coast and Northeast reliably lean Democratic. Following this, Wendy K. Tam Cho looks for evidence of political self-segregation—that is, individuals moving to areas that contain clusters of other like-minded people—by tracking movement using voter records from 2004, 2006, and 2008. Her results indicate that, while it may not be the only factor, partisan sorting is a significant component of destination decisions. Don’t Take No for an Answer: The 2011 Referendum and the Future of Electoral Reform. Lewis Baston and Ken Ritchie. Biteback Publishing. September 2011.