Electoral concentration in the São Paulo elections: indicators and applications

Abstract

This article discusses indicators of electoral concentration published in the literature and proposes a new measurement, estimated for the elections to Members of the Brazilian National Congress from the State of São Paulo in the last five races (1994-2010). The resulting estimates show that the strategy of concentrating votes among the elected Representatives is less than expected according to the literature and that when the strategy is adopted, it tends to be more regional than local. Finally, the evolution in this indicator over time suggests that there are no clear trends in application of the strategy.