NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Political effects of Hurricane Katrina

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina has already begun to have significant political effects manifested in the failure of the US Army Corps' flood protection that experts agree should have held against Katrina's storm surge as well as criticism of government response. In addition, commentators have discussed the likely effects of the disaster on a wide range of political issues, and potentially on future elections and legislation. Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ...

Political controversies and electoral consequences

Issues relating to the cause of the hurricane itself

Whether emission policies allegedly contributing to global warming led to the increased temperature of surface waters in the Gulf of Mexico, thereby strengthening the hurricane. Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected... Gulf of Mexico in 3D perspective. ...

Issues relating to the cause of the damage to New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana sits between (and below) the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. ... Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A chemical substance is any material substance used in or obtained by a process in chemistry: A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more chemical elements that are chemically combined in fixed proportions. ...

Issues relating to government response

The criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina primarily consisted of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. ...

Long-term issues

Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration - see text) in the UK. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organizations to pay their... A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... In the United States, an absentee ballot is a ballot that the voter receives and (usually) sends through the mail, rather than travelling to a polling place and marking the ballot at a voting booth. ...

Policies affecting hurricane defenses

New Orleans, Louisiana sits between (and below) the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. ...

Prevention and evacuation issues

According to the National Response Plan, the Department of Homeland Security "will assume responsibility on March 1 [2005] for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort".^[1] The state evacuation plan (Part 1 Section D7) states,^[2] evacuation is the responsibility of the local parish. In Orleans Parish that responsibility fell to Mayor Ray Nagin. Many critics have noted that while Mayor Nagin gave a mandatory evacuation order on August 28, before the storm hit, they did not make sufficient prevention and provisions to evacuate the homeless, the poor, the elderly, the infirm, or the car-less households. Hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, were supposed to have pre-determined evacuation and/or refuge plans in place.^[3] Foreign nationals without transport claimed that the police refused to evacuate them, giving bus places only to American citizens.^[4] The National Response Plan is the Department of Homeland Securitys plan to handle terrorist attacks, natural disasters or other large-scale emergency. ... Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Prior to this, on August 27 the White House issued a statement,^[5] effective August 26, authorizing federal emergency assistance for Louisiana. The statement authorized the DHS and FEMA to coordinate disaster relief and "...required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn." This includes all the parishes in the state of Louisiana except the coastal parishes which are inherently exposed to the most destructive forces of a hurricane. The President had not yet authorized FEMA to enter the coastal areas despite the governor's request including those parishes.^[6] The governor activated the National Guard with her August 26, State of Emergency Declaration page II-4 Red Cross relief in New Orleans remains forbidden by the Governor.^[7] August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (239th in leap years). ... The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a Cabinet department of the federal government of the United States that is concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. ... New FEMA seal The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is an agency of the United States government dedicated to swift response in the event of disasters, both natural and man-made. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (239th in leap years). ...

According to the Louisiana Evacuation plan, evacuation was mainly left up to individual citizens to find their own way out of the city. It was known that many residents of New Orleans lacked cars. It is also believed that many citizens, having survived previous hurricanes, did not anticipate the impending catastrophe and chose to ride out the storm. Even so, a 2000 census revealed that 27% of New Orleans households, amounting to approximately 120,000 people, were without privately owned transportation. Additionally, at 38%, New Orleans has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States. These factors may have prevented many people from being able to evacuate on their own. Consequentially most of those stranded in the city are the poor, the elderly, and the sick.^[8]^[9] A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ...

State and city evacuation plans (^[10] Part 1 Section C and part II-2) mention use of school buses for evacuation. With the following language: "The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating." Several hundred school buses were left parked on low ground where they would be easily flooded with storm water and then later by the levee flooding making their use impossible in the emergency evacuation. It is not clear whether these buses were owned by the city or by a private contractor to which the city had outsourced school bus services. Mayor Nagin testified in his hearing in Washington that those buses were owned by the school board and that he had no control over them. The precise number of buses available has been cited anywhere from a couple of hundred to a likely exaggerated 2,000.^[11] Image File history File links Bus_yard-rotate. ... Image File history File links Bus_yard-rotate. ...

During non-emergency times, drivers of school buses must own and maintain a class D commercial license or better depending on the exact size and weight of the bus. During an emergency any driver is suitable as long as approved by the Governor. In spite of risks and his lack of formal training or license, 20-year-old Jabbar Gibson commandeered a New Orleans school bus and rescued 70 people from the rising floodwaters before making the 13-hour drive to Houston's Reliant Astrodome, arriving on Wednesday evening.^[12]^[13] A day later a commercially licensed driver's bus filled with evacuees flipped, resulting in one death and many injuries after a passenger fought with the driver.^[14] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Jabbar Gibson being interviewed by Texas television station, KRGV. Jabbar Gibson (reported also as Jabbor or Jabar) is an 20-year old man who on September 1, 2005, drove an abandoned New Orleans school bus from the flooded area after Hurricane Katrina to Houston, Texas, to rescue victims of the... Reliant Astrodome, previously known as the Astrodome, is a domed sports stadium, the first of its kind. ...

In a phone call to WWL radio made after the idle school and RTA buses were flooded,^[15] Mayor Nagin called for 500 Greyhound buses to be sent from outside the city to help evacuate. Coordination of transportation from outside the Parish is the responsibility of the Governor according to the State Evacuation Plan (Part 1 Section D).^[16] Governor Blanco had yet to exercise this responsibility. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (born December 15, 1942) is an American politician. ...

Some evacuees report that the drive from New Orleans to Baton Rouge took anywhere from five hours to nine hours; this drive usually takes up to an hour. Reports from the Associated Press state that 80% of the near 500,000 had evacuated safely from New Orleans prior to the hurricane's landfall. Even if licensed drivers had been available and the available buses had been used to evacuate the remaining approximately 150,000 people, they may not have made it to safety before landfall.

This massive migration is the largest since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s sent about 300,000 people from the Great Plains States to other regions of the U.S., most notably California. This article does not adequately cite its references. ...

Early questions arose on why the flood protection system desgined and built by the US Army Corps of Engineers failed catastropically in 53 different places in metro New Orleans.

In 1965, the United States Congress gave the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) sole authority for the design and construction of the flood protection in Greater New Orleans in the Pontchartrain Hurricane Protection Project. Local municipalities were designated the responsibility for maintenance once the projects were complete (source: GAO testimony summary attached).

When authorized, this Congressional mandate was projected to take 13 years to complete. When the flood protection system failed in 2005, the project was between 60-90% complete and the projected date of completion was estimated to be 2015, nearly 50 years after it first gained authorization from Congress.

The levees themselves were designed to protect New Orleans from a direct hit by a Category 3 hurricane. This decision was made by the corps decades ago "based on a cost-benefit analysis", according to Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, chief of engineers of the corps. [1] However, when Hurricane Katrina passed east of New Orleans, it was a weakening Category 3 storm.

Questions have been raised about proper funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of many hurricane-protection programs across the United States. Sidney Blumenthal, from the Clinton Administration, appeared as a guest on BBC's The World on September 1, 2005 stating that the Bush Administration had specifically diverted tens of millions of US dollars in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from water and storm protection efforts to be used instead by the Corps in Iraq. As a result, Blumenthal said, the Corps had performed only last-minute and substandard reinforcement of levees, some of which subsequently failed. In February 2005, following in the tradition of past presidents, President Bush proposed cutting the Corps budget by 7%, and in 2004 proposed a 13% cut. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050901/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_bush_budget] However, Corps officials stated that a decrease in funding was not to blame. The USACE gold castle insignia, worn by officers of the Corps The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ... Sidney Blumenthal was born in Chicago in 1948 and educated at Brandeis University(BA in Sociology in 1969). ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GBÂ£4 billion (US$7. ... The World is a news radio program produced by the BBC World Service of the United Kingdom, and Public Radio International and WGBH of the United States. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 2005 : â† - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - â†’ Pope John Paul II is taken to a hospital suffering from a serious case of influenza. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Other questions have been raised about the design of the flood protection system itself. While the Corps has admitted fault for the failure of the 17th Street, London Avenue and Orleans Avenue outfall Canals, reports by the National Science Foundation/U.C. Berkeley and Team Louisiana cite inadequate design throughout the entire levee system.

New Orleans' emergency operations chief, Terry Ebbert, is cited as saying, "This is a national disgrace. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans," referring to the US humanitarian relief for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.[2] The humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was prompted by one of the worst natural disasters of modern times. ... Tsunami strikes Ao Nang, Thailand. ...

Federal wetlands policy

There has been criticism of the federal policy, since 2003, of again turning wetlands over to developers. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ...

Louisiana has a long history, under both parties, of approving private developments in wetlands with consequent destruction of wetlands across coastal Louisiana.[3] "Wetlands create friction and reduce high winds when hurricanes hit. They also absorb hurricane storm surges. Scientists estimate that every 2.7 miles of wetlands absorbs one foot of storm surge."[4] A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ...

The Bush Administration, contrary to campaign promises and a wetland protection policy maintained since 1990, ended federal wetlands protection.[5]

The storm surge that overcame New Orleans and the surrounding parishes would have been drastically reduced had wetlands been present to reduce said surge. www.nature.com/news/2005/050905/full/050905-11.html] ^{[verification needed]}

Political effects of population displacement

In the days following the evacuation of New Orleans, Reuters reported that "[i]nterviews with refugees in Houston, which is expecting many thousands of evacuees to remain, suggest that thousands of blacks who lost everything and had no insurance will end up living in Texas or other U.S. states,"[6] and Forbes Magazine notes that "those left homeless will take part in the biggest internal migration of people since the days of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression."[7] Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area Ranked 2nd - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 kmÂ²) - Width 773 miles (1,244 km) - Length 790 miles (1,270 km) - % water 2. ... Alternate meaning: For the Boston Brahmin family associated with John Forbes Kerry, see Forbes family. ... This article does not adequately cite its references. ... The Great Depression was a time of economic down turn, which started after the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. ...

This and other reports ([8][9]) suggest that the hurricane will have demographic consequences, particularly in and around Louisiana. Prior to the hurricane, Louisiana was one of a handful of states projected by the U.S. Census department to become a majority-minority state within the next two decades. Because a majority of displaced Louisiana residents are black, this occurrence will likely be delayed in Louisiana, accelerated in nearby Florida and Georgia, and increased in Texas, which itself became a majority-minority state in mid-2005. The U.S. Census is mandated by the United States Constitution. ... US states and districts in which non-Hispanic whites are a plurality/minority. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area Ranked 22nd - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] kmÂ²) - Width 361 miles (582 km) - Length 447 miles (721 km) - % water 17. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area Ranked 2nd - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 kmÂ²) - Width 773 miles (1,244 km) - Length 790 miles (1,270 km) - % water 2. ...

It has been noted that the displacement of a significant portion of African Americans from Louisiana is likely to shift the politics of that state in a more conservative direction[10]. Louisiana may also lose a vote in the Electoral College following the 2010 U.S. Census. An electoral college is a set of electors, who are empowered as a deliberative body to elect a candidate to a particular office. ... The Twenty-third United States Census will be the next national census in the United States. ...

Effects on the structure of government

FEMA funding and leadership

Many local emergency managers defended FEMA, pointing out that the Bush Administration has since 9/11 reduced the agency's budget, mission, and status. FEMA, which was elevated to cabinet-level status under Bill Clinton, was demoted to undersecretary status after the creation of DHS, which placed higher priority on countering terrorism than planning for natural disaster. Some members of the International Association of Emergency Managers had predicted that FEMA could not adequately respond to a catastrophe, citing flaws in other disaster responses since 9/11. New FEMA seal The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is an agency of the United States government dedicated to swift response in the event of disasters, both natural and man-made. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... The International Association of Emergency Managers (abbreviated IAEM) is a non-profit educational organization for emergency management professionals around the world. ...

George W. Bush has also been criticized for his choice of Michael D. Brown as FEMA head. Prior to joining FEMA, Brown had no experience whatsoever in disaster relief. Brown had even been fired from his previous job as a supervisor of judging at the International Arabian Horse Association. Michael Brownie Brown For other people of the same name, see Michael Brown (disambiguation). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Policy matters arising during the recovery

Giving Tax money to faith based organizations

FEMA said that it will use tax money to reimburse faith based organizations that have aided survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. [11]

Reports of contract awards

Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, quickly received reconstruction and damage assessment contracts for naval facilities in Mississippi and New Orleans affected by Katrina. [12] This was the first of several companies that had been politically supportive of President Bush receiving lucrative reconstruction contracts through FEMA and other federal agencies under the authority of the Bush Administration. [13] Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, is doing major repairs at Navy facilities along the Gulf Coast that were damaged by the hurricane. That work is being done under a $500 million contract with the Defense Department. Other no-bid contracts were awarded to the Fluor Corporation of California, a major donor to the Republican Party, and The Shaw Group of Baton Rouge, La. Shaw is a client of Joe M. Allbaugh, a consultant who was President Bush's campaign manager in 2000 and his first FEMA director. Shaw's CEO, however, is the chairman of Louisiana's Democratic party. On 2005-09-13, officials vowed investigation of possible fraud and waste [14]. The Shaw Group disclosed, in its annual report filed in July 05, that it is the subject of what the company describes as an "informal inquiry" by the Securities and Exchange Commission, http://www.sec.gov The SEC has declined to comment. Federal securities class-action cases are also proceding and accuse the Shaw Group and its executives of defrauding investors with misleading statements concerning the company's finances and management. [http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2005-09-14-katrina-contracts_x.htm According to the Wall Street Journal (9/12/05), other companies that had received no-bid cost-plus contracts included Bechtel National, a unit of Bechtel Corporation (temporary housing), Denver-based CH2M Hill Cos. (housing), and Kenyon Worldwide Disaster Management (to collect human remains). FEMA has primary responsibility for spending more than $50 billion in aid, 60 times its budget in 2003. Halliburton Energy Services (NYSE: HAL) is a multinational corporation with operations in over 120 countries. ... Richard Bruce Dick Cheney (born January 30, 1941), is the 46th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President George W. Bush. ... New FEMA seal The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is an agency of the United States government dedicated to swift response in the event of disasters, both natural and man-made. ... Kellogg, Brown and Root is an American engineering and construction company, a private military contractor and a subsidiary of Halliburton. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Shaw Group is a Fortune 500[1] corporation headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ... Joe M. Allbaugh Joe M. Allbaugh (b. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... Bechtel Corporation (Bechtel Group) is the largest civil engineering company in the world. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... New FEMA seal The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is an agency of the United States government dedicated to swift response in the event of disasters, both natural and man-made. ...

The Shaw Group, Inc., which won two federal rebuilding contracts, each worth $100 million, has a history of obtaining no-bid contracts through contacts to Democratic politicians in Louisiana. "Shaw's chief executive officer, Jim Bernhard "is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Shaw Group Inc., a Fortune 500 company," and Chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. The Shaw group and Mr. Jim Bernhard is/was also a major supporter and contributor to Gov. Blanco and other Major Louisiana Democrat politicians. It should also be noted that The Shaw group contract was no a bid contract. Mr. Bernhard has since resigned as his position as the Louisiana as Chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party, so as to avoid a "conflict of interest" with these state contracts. [15]. Another Shaw executive, Jeff Jenkins, was the governor's (Kathleen Blanco) campaign manager." [16]

Speculations for the cause of Hurricane Katrina

A political impact is likely to result from various suggested causes for the hurricane itself. Though most global climate experts concur that global warming is not responsible for the increase in frequency and intensity of hurricanes during the 1990s and 2000s, and instead hold accountable cyclical changes in ocean currents, commentators immediately began discussing global warming in the wake of the hurricane [17], with increased debate that global warming significantly increases the number and intensity of extreme weather events. [18] [19] [20] Following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, various conjectures were put forward suggesting that Katrina was not an ordinary natural event, but was instead influenced by human behavior or supernatural forces. ... Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected...

Less rational speculation has asserted that the hurricane was divine retribution for any of a number of provocations, including politically divisive international issues such as the War in Iraq [21], (most famously by New Orleans' own mayor Ray Nagin in a 2006 MLK day speech), and U.S. pressure for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza[22]; and domestic issues such as abortion, and tolerance for homosexuality.[23][24] Divine retribution is a supernatural punishment usually directed towards all or some portions of humanity by a deity. ... There have been three conflicts in the late 20th century and early 21st century called Gulf War, all of which refer to conflicts in the Persian Gulf region: Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) (aka First Gulf War). ... Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. ... The Chocolate City speech is a disparaging nickname which some people have given to the Martin Luther King Day speech by Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 16, 2006. ... Articles with similar titles include the Spanish name Garza. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ...

References

^ http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp
^ http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/plans/EOPSupplement1a.pdf
^ page II-3
^ http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1562517,00.html
^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html
^ http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=973
^ http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/08/katrina.redcross/index.html
^ http://www.democracynow.org/index.pl?issue=20050902
^ http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0902-02.htm
^ http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/plans/EOPSupplement1a.pdf
^ http://mediamatters.org/items/200509120005?is_gsa=1&final=1
^ http://images.chron.com/content/news/photos/05/09/01/katrina_renegadebus.jpg
^ http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/casey/3335904
^ http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050903/NEWS05/509030307
^ http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/nagin.transcript/
^ http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/plans/EOPSupplement1a.pdf

Contents

Political controversies and electoral consequences

Issues relating to the cause of the hurricane itself

Issues relating to the cause of the damage to New Orleans

Issues relating to government response

Long-term issues

Policies affecting hurricane defenses

Prevention and evacuation issues

Federal wetlands policy

Political effects of population displacement

Effects on the structure of government

FEMA funding and leadership

Policy matters arising during the recovery

Giving Tax money to faith based organizations

Reports of contract awards

Speculations for the cause of Hurricane Katrina

References

External links

Contents

Political controversies and electoral consequences GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Issues relating to the cause of the hurricane itself

Issues relating to the cause of the damage to New Orleans

Issues relating to government response

Long-term issues

Policies affecting hurricane defenses

Prevention and evacuation issues

Federal wetlands policy

Political effects of population displacement

Effects on the structure of government

FEMA funding and leadership

Policy matters arising during the recovery

Giving Tax money to faith based organizations

Reports of contract awards

Speculations for the cause of Hurricane Katrina

References

External links

Political controversies and electoral consequences