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The Partisan Impact on Local Government Dissemination of COVID-19 Information : Assessing U.S. County Government Websites

Hansen, Michael A. LU ; Johansson, Isabelle LU ; Sadowski, Kalie ; Blaszcynski, Joseph and Meyer, Sarah (2021) In Canadian Journal of Political Science 54(1). p.150-162
Abstract

This study explores the relationship between local government dissemination of COVID-19 information and partisanship. The unit of analysis is all official county government websites in the United States. In particular, we investigate if there is a correlation between the overall partisanship of a county and whether a county government's website 1) mentions COVID-19, and 2) provides safety instructions concerning COVID-19. We hypothesize that mass partisanship will impact the probability that a county government's website provides information related to the coronavirus. We find that a larger share of Democratic voters in a county is associated with an increase in the probability that a county government's website mentions COVID-19 and... (More)

This study explores the relationship between local government dissemination of COVID-19 information and partisanship. The unit of analysis is all official county government websites in the United States. In particular, we investigate if there is a correlation between the overall partisanship of a county and whether a county government's website 1) mentions COVID-19, and 2) provides safety instructions concerning COVID-19. We hypothesize that mass partisanship will impact the probability that a county government's website provides information related to the coronavirus. We find that a larger share of Democratic voters in a county is associated with an increase in the probability that a county government's website mentions COVID-19 and provides safety instructions for their residents. The results hold even after controlling for population density, internet subscriptions, and COVID-19 cases and deaths. The finding indicates that citizens' access to information, even on matters of public health, are partially a consequence of partisanship.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
County websites, Covid-19, Local governments, Partisanship
in
Canadian Journal of Political Science
volume
54
issue
1
pages
150 - 162
publisher
Cambridge University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85094908847
ISSN
0008-4239
DOI
10.1017/S0008423920000918
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5ed631e5-33ed-4f53-b535-419ec3ee8c62
date added to LUP
2020-11-23 07:48:14
date last changed
2022-04-26 21:59:54
@article{5ed631e5-33ed-4f53-b535-419ec3ee8c62,
  abstract     = {{<p>This study explores the relationship between local government dissemination of COVID-19 information and partisanship. The unit of analysis is all official county government websites in the United States. In particular, we investigate if there is a correlation between the overall partisanship of a county and whether a county government's website 1) mentions COVID-19, and 2) provides safety instructions concerning COVID-19. We hypothesize that mass partisanship will impact the probability that a county government's website provides information related to the coronavirus. We find that a larger share of Democratic voters in a county is associated with an increase in the probability that a county government's website mentions COVID-19 and provides safety instructions for their residents. The results hold even after controlling for population density, internet subscriptions, and COVID-19 cases and deaths. The finding indicates that citizens' access to information, even on matters of public health, are partially a consequence of partisanship.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hansen, Michael A. and Johansson, Isabelle and Sadowski, Kalie and Blaszcynski, Joseph and Meyer, Sarah}},
  issn         = {{0008-4239}},
  keywords     = {{County websites; Covid-19; Local governments; Partisanship}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{150--162}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{Canadian Journal of Political Science}},
  title        = {{The Partisan Impact on Local Government Dissemination of COVID-19 Information : Assessing U.S. County Government Websites}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0008423920000918}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/S0008423920000918}},
  volume       = {{54}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}