Mildly intriguing Provo precinct results

[Sol]

I was looking through UT precinct results in DRA today and found this:



Biden won 4 precincts in the city, which is quite an impressive performance. The three precincts next to each other are in downtown, which makes a certain amount of sense. The fourth is by BYU, though it doesn't have the university proper--why does this area vote Dem when other spots nearby continue to vote Republican? Does it have bunch of non-Mormon professors or something?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Reminds me: https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=540922.0

I bet they live in one of the Biden precincts.

[Hope For A New Era]

I was looking through UT precinct results in DRA today and found this:



Biden won 4 precincts in the city, which is quite an impressive performance. The three precincts next to each other are in downtown, which makes a certain amount of sense. The fourth is by BYU, though it doesn't have the university proper--why does this area vote Dem when other spots nearby continue to vote Republican? Does it have bunch of non-Mormon professors or something?

That precinct has a large number of BYU students. It was also very strong for McMullin in 2016, and the precinct immediately north of it, which consists almost entirely of BYU dorms, was McMullin's strongest precinct in the whole country.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I would guess that precinct has a large number of BYU grad students, in particular.  Grad students are both to the left of undergrad students (people who get a Bachelor's degree and nothing more aren't as Democratic as those who get additional degrees) and are probably less likely to vote at their parents' address.  It also wouldn't surprise me if there were a lot of campus staff (dining, maintenance, etc.) there.

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

Could it also just be that younger Mormons might be slightly less titanium R then their elders?

[jamestroll]

I was looking through UT precinct results in DRA today and found this:



Biden won 4 precincts in the city, which is quite an impressive performance. The three precincts next to each other are in downtown, which makes a certain amount of sense. The fourth is by BYU, though it doesn't have the university proper--why does this area vote Dem when other spots nearby continue to vote Republican? Does it have bunch of non-Mormon professors or something?

There are a handful of exceptions, but virtually all the professors in BYU are Mormon. I knew a non-Mormon professor there in passing, however. Many of BYU students and staff in that particularly area and lean more liberal than the campus, state, and especially the county.

Downtown Provo and Provo in general feels less Republican than voting patterns suggest. If it were not so WHITE, you may think its more of a Democratic area. More ethnic restaurants than you'd expect. There is even a Bus Rapid Transit line that serves the city (and Orem), and a major commuter rail station.

Even the Republicans in Provo seem less ideological compared to the rest of the county.

Biden received 26% in Utah County while McMullin received 35% there.  In the near electoral future, I am confident that the city of Provo will vote Democrat. A Democrat may be elected to the Utah Legislature from the city of Provo fairly soon, but I am less confident on that. Of course the rethugs will try to gerrymander it back, even by illegal means.

I believe the last Democrat to win anything in Utah County was 1994.
I know everything there is to know about the political and nature geography of Utah. 

[Utah Neolib]

Inner Provo is moderate because of the local BYU campus (very odd sentence I know) and had some of Becky Edwards’s best precinct performances in the state. The rest of Utah County is obviously Titanium R. Some of the richer suburban areas are still more Republican than poorer suburbs, which is interesting.