Prof. Steven Rogers on his new book, “Accountability in State Legislatures”

In his new book, “Accountability in State Legislatures,” Prof. Steven Rogers of St. Louis University presents a wealth of data which show that elections have come to do very little to hold state legislators accountable.

Among other things, Rogers reports that more than a third of state legislative incumbents win reelection without either a primary or general election challenger and that only 11% of voters can recall who their state legislator is.

What’s more, when deciding how to vote in state legislative elections, voters’ approval of the president is more than three times as important as their approval of the state legislature, reflecting our nationalized politics.

So, what are the implications of these and some of his other sobering findings? Recently NC Newsline caught up with Professor Rogers for an extended conversation to find out.