In 2004, courts drew the legislative district
boundaries in Georgia.  Even though everyone agrees
that the courts drew the districts without paying
attention to partisan politics, a recent study
mentioned that the Georgia legislative districts still
weren't competitive.  The conclusion of the study
seemed to be that even a competent, non-partisan
redistricting process is a flop at creating large
numbers of competitive legislative districts.

However, I don't believe that study mentioned the
extreme paucity of candidates on the November 2004
ballot for Georgia legislature.  Approximately 60% of
the districts only had one candidate on the ballot! 
Either the Democrats or the Republicans failed to run
anyone in 139 of the 236 legislative races.

A less important factor in causing few competitive
races in Georgia is the Georgia ballot access law that
keeps virtually all independent and minor party
candidates for the legislature off the ballot. 
Although minor parties and independents seldom win,
their presence on the ballot in a large number of the
districts can make elections more competitive between
the two major parties.  They add an unpredictable
element.  For instance, a district that is solidly
Democratic can still possibly elect a Republican if
there is a strong Green in the race (this happened in
2 of 3 New Mexico congressional districts in the late 1990's).


		
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