Constituency Relations Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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When legislators are elected from specific geographic districts, significant resources are typically devoted to constituency relations—activity characterized by interaction between elected legislators and individual citizens or small groups of citizens. The nature of such interactions ranges from impersonal contact, mediated by legislative staff or conducted by correspondence, to direct encounters between representative and constituents.

Representation

Constituency relations serve two distinct functions for a legislator. First, a legislator’s interactions with constituents can facilitate representation by providing crucial information about the represented citizens. As political scientist Richard Fenno notes in his 1978 book Home Style: House Members in Their Districts, regarding constituents, it is critical for a member of Congress and, implicitly, a member of any representative body, to know “who they are, what they think, and what they want” (233). Constituency relations are an important way for legislators to gain such knowledge. Sometimes a legislator will gather information directly, meeting with constituents individually or in small groups.

When legislators are in their home districts, their schedules are filled with community events; for example, representatives often give speeches at graduation ceremonies, present awards for civic organizations, and hold town-hall-style meetings for the public. Such occasions give legislators ample opportunities to hear the views and concerns of the people they represent. They also offer opportunities to curry favor with the people they represent, thus serving a second purpose, helping legislators’ reelection efforts.

Casework And Reelection Prospects

One significant form of constituency relations is known as casework. With casework, legislative aides receive and respond to particularized requests from individuals. Casework is thought to enhance legislators’ reelection prospects in two ways: by creating satisfied customers who will support their representative out of a sense of gratitude and by giving the representative positive accomplishments to advertise. Notably, while studies of legislator attitudes provide ample evidence that representatives believe constituency service improves their reelection tallies, the actual effect of casework on reelection prospects has been quite difficult to pin down. Most recent studies, however, suggest that performing casework helps legislators win reelection.

The link between casework and representation is not quite as straightforward, as casework is generally divorced from ideological or policy content. The aggregation of citizens’ requests, however, can provide representatives with important information about how the government is functioning (or malfunctioning) and thus facilitate the traditional legislative function of executive oversight. If a veterans’ hospital is providing poor service, the representative from that district will hear about it from constituents seeking the representative’s help. If the streets in a certain neighborhood are not regularly swept, residents will call their city counselor.

Members of the U.S. Congress consider service to be a core function of their congressional offices and make it very easy for constituents to request help. Every member of Congress features a link or button on the gateways to their Web sites labeled “How can I help you?” or “constituent services” or something similar; these links lead to pages that generally include detailed instructions on the range of services the member offers. A sample of such services includes arranging a tour of the Capitol or White House, nominating a constituent to one of the service academies, and providing a letter to support federal grant applications. But the meat-and-potatoes of constituency relations consists of intervening with a government agency on behalf of a specific individual. Typical requests seek help with an agency that provides benefits and services, such as the Social Security Administration or the Veterans Administration, but members of Congress are willing and eager to help in more unusual circumstances too. An example that received wide attention in early 2010 involved an eight-year-old boy from New Jersey who had the same name as an individual on the federal government’s “selectee” list of persons who receive extra security screening at U.S. airports. Each time he traveled, the boy’s family endured long delays, and he himself was aggressively frisked. The family asked their representative, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) to intervene on their behalf with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The New York Times reported Pascrell’s response, arranging for a TSA agent to personally escort the family at Newark Airport. In this case, Pascrell’s office earned the gratitude of an individual voter and attracted significant positive attention for Pascrell in a national news outlet.

While constituency relations are a key part of legislators’ reelection efforts, two characteristics distinguish them from traditional campaign activity. First, constituency relations involve the conduct of official governmental business. Advertising one’s positions on public issues or record of achievement, even when such achievement relates to helping individual constituents, is not an official act; intervening with a government agency on behalf of an individual, responding to constituents’ inquiries about legislation, or appearing before a community group to discuss public issues are official acts. Second, constituency relations generally entail reciprocal communication, whereas campaign activity emphasizes the flow of information from legislator to constituency.

Importance Of Constituency Relations

Emphasis on constituency relations varies across legislatures depending on the institutional context. The size of the constituency, in terms of both population and geography, the nature of the electoral system, and the availability of official resources are important factors determining a legislator’s level of attention to constituency relations. For example, in the United States, members of the House emphasize constituency relations more than senators. Senators represent many more constituents than the House members (with a handful of exceptions). Their “districts” are geographically large and thus require more reliance on mass media. Furthermore, they are elected for longer terms and from two-member districts.

These factors all make constituency relations less important in the allocation of official resources. In electoral systems where parties play a stronger role, constituency relations are also less valuable to individual legislators, whose reelection prospects depend more on party label than on their individual appeal.

Bibliography:

Cain, Bruce E., John A. Ferejohn, and Morris P. Fiorina. The Personal Vote: Constituency Service and Electoral Independence. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1987.
Fenno, Richard F., Jr. Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. Boston: Little, Brown, 1978.
Jewell, Malcolm E. “Legislator-Constituency Relations and the Representative Process.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 8 (August 1983): 303–333.
King, Gary. “Constituency Service and Incumbency Advantage.” British Journal of Political Science 21 (January 1991): 119–128.
McAdams, John C., and John R. Johannes. “Congressmen, Perquisites, and Elections.” Journal of Politics 50 (May 1988): 412–439.
Norris, Pippa. “The Puzzle of Constituency Service.” Journal of Legislative Studies 3 (Summer 1997): 29–49.
Serra, George, and David Moon. “Casework, Issue Positions, and Voting in Congressional Elections: A District Analysis.” Journal of Politics 56 (February 1994): 200–213.