Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Individual Party Donors: True Allies Or Free Agents?, Anne E. Baker

Political Science

Habitual party donors represent an important revenue source for American political parties. What remains unclear is whether the party committees can also count on these donors to support the congressional candidates who represent the parties’ best chances for seat maximization. Utilizing structural equation modeling and contribution data from the 2006 to the 2012 election cycles, I find habitual party donors and certain new party donors respond to changes in party control of the House by providing more support to incumbents when their party is in the majority and more support to nonincumbents when their party is in the minority. Moreover, …

How The Mountain West States Voted In 2016: A Post-Election Analysis Of Trends, Demographics, And Politics In America’S New Swing Region, William E. Brown, Robert E. Lang, David Damore, Benoy Jacob, Michael Green

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Brookings Mountain West and the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs hosted a panel of experts in state and regional politics and history to examine election returns and exit polling and provide a first-read of the 2016 election. The Mountain West is now one of the nation’s most contested political regions. Its population growth and ever-shifting demographics make the region harder to predict and most susceptible to political swings. Five states in the Southern Mountain West – Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah – now hold more electoral votes than all individual states except Texas and California. In our current …

Why I'M Not Voting (For President), Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Choosing not to vote is not (necessarily) failing to engage the political system, and, while I hope I don’t feel compelled to do it again in the future, I am confident in my decision not to vote for a candidate for president this coming election."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­reasons for not voting in this year's presidential election from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/why-im-not-voting-for-president/

Voting For Gary Johnson, Adam Adams

Staff Work

"Governor Johnson’s fiscally conservative views, and socially liberal views give him a unique space for common ground in a divided Congress."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­this year's Libertarian party candidate for president from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/voting-for-johnson/

The Revival Of Representative Democracy In Nigeria And Its Impact On Sustainable Development, Olanrewaju Ojo Emupenne

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Nigeria was under military rule for near to 30 years out of her 55 years of existence after independence. During this period, corruption reached peak levels causing societal retrogression. The dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999 heralded the revival of elections in the country. It is against this background that this study investigates the extent to which democracy has advanced and improved the living standards of citizens and increased per capita income among others. A total of 642 people, 393 males, 236 women and 13 respondents took part in the case study. The study underscores the need for a …

Beyond Density & Diversity: Understanding The Socio-Cultural Geography Of Contemporary Presidential Elections, David F. Damore, Robert E. Lang

Brookings Mountain West Publications

In the aftermath of the 2012 presidential election, a good deal of commentary held that President Obama’s reelection resulted from the country’s changing demography and his overwhelming support among nonwhite voters residing in the country’s urban spaces. Less discussed was the fact that Republican Mitt Romney also carried many urbanized states with ethnically and racially diverse populations and that President Obama would not have been reelected without securing the Electoral Votes of a number of rural states with large white populations. In this paper, we argue that the combination of educated populations and a socio-cultural construct we call northernness allow …

What Goes Up Must Not Come Down: The Tweet Retraction Process Of Politicians, Paige Settles

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In 2011, Congressman Anthony Weiner demonstrated the risks politicians face when utilizing Twitter. While past scholarship regarding Twitter has focused on the impact of the tweets candidates share with their voters, academic attention has not been afforded to the tweets candidates delete. This thesis seeks to delve further into the analysis of Twitter as a political campaign tool by examining the practice of tweet retraction. To achieve this end, this research presents two studies. The first analyzes the deleted tweets of members of the 112th Congress between May and November of 2012 in terms of quantity of retractions and the …

Why Does Voting Get So Complicated? : A Review Of Theories For Analyzing Democratic Participation., Jeff Gill, Jason Gainous

Jason Gainous

The purpose of this article is to present a sample from the panoply of formal theories on voting and elections to Statistical Science readers who have had limited exposure to such work. These abstract ideas provide a framework for understanding the context of the empirical articles that follow in this volume. The primary focus of this theoretical literature is on the use of mathematical formalism to describe electoral systems and outcomes by modeling both voting rules and human behavior. As with empirical models, these constructs are never perfect descriptors of reality, but instead form the basis for understanding fundamental characteristics …

Which Policies Are Rewarded: Explaining The Distribution Of U.S. Foreign Aid After The End Of The Cold War, Yury V. Bosin

Political Science ETDs

The goal of this study is to elucidate what drives the distribution of U.S. foreign assistance. Why do some states receive more than others? Does the U.S. use aid to reward certain good' policies? Can a regime pursue such policies to secure more U.S. funding? I answer these questions by examining patterns of aid distribution of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. I find that USAID assistance is driven primarily by strategic interests, while the MCC is more oriented towards the recipient needs. To assess the effects of various democratic policies on the distribution of …

Height In Politics: The Role Of Height In Electoral Success In The State Of Washington, Joseph Wayne Rebbe

Honors Projects

Throughout the history of American presidential elections, the height of candidates has proven to be a statistically significant factor relative to success. This analysis examines whether the same trend applied to Washington State elections over the period 1994-2014. Ultimately, the data shows that Washington electoral results are not subject to change on the basis of candidate height – Washington elections do not reflect the presidential election trend.

Home Is Where The Vote Is: A Research Note On The Effects Of Changes In North Dakota Voter Identification Laws On College Student Turnout In The 2014 Elections, Nicholas Bauroth, Kjersten Nelson

Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy

A survey of undergraduate and graduate students across North Dakota found that 3.2 percent of respondents who attempted to vote in the 2014 midterm elections were unable to participate due to confusion over residency requirements. Many students were unaware that recent changes in the state’s voter identification laws meant they needed to update their addresses thirty days before the election if they wanted to vote in the precinct where they lived. Extrapolating the results of this survey to the student population indicates that 689 students were unable to vote due to residency issues. In addition, 1.5 percent of respondents who …

How Voters Hold The European People’S Party Accountable In European Parliament Elections, Douglas D. Page

Political Science Faculty Publications

The established consensus is that voters do not hold European Union leaders accountable for their management of the economy in European Parliament elections, which contributes to the EU’s democratic deficit. However, the existing research misses a comparison between those who feel that the national government is responsible for their economic situation and those who feel the EU is responsible. The analysis is based on surveys of the 28 EU members. I find that when one assigns more responsibility to the EU than the national government for national economic conditions, satisfaction with the economy increases the likelihood of voting for the …

Gender, Media, And The White House: An Examination Of Gender In The Media Coverage Of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, And Ted Cruz In The 2016 Elections, Rose E. Allen

Political Science Honors Projects

This paper examines the role of gender in the media coverage of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Ted Cruz in the 2016 election cycle. Analyzing newspaper articles, Twitter pages, and campaign advertisements, I compare the media coverage of these three candidates to their own campaign messages. My findings reveal that Clinton received more personal coverage than Sanders or Cruz, despite less of an emphasis on personal characteristics in her own campaign materials. I also find that Clinton received less coverage on “feminine issues” such as women’s health and paid family leave, despite her own campaign’s focus on these issues. I …

Political Imagination And The Campaign Narrative, Zachary Michael Jack

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Reflections From A First Time Voter, Carlye Tazelaar

Student Work

"In a campaign fueled by hate, let’s slam on the brakes with love."

Posting about treating political candidates with grace from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/reflections-from-a-first-time-voter/

Paper Trails: Following The Money, Jonathan Beltman

Student Work

"In many recent elections, the candidates who raise the most money have a better shot at winning, so candidates must raise millions of dollars to win an election. A top question to consider in all elections: Where is the money coming from?"

Posting about the financing behind federal elections from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/paper-trails-following-the-money/

Religious Freedom And Presidential Politics, Chelsea Maxwell

Student Work

"Considering religious freedom within the context of politics is important because of its implications on individuals, organizations, and society overall."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­engaging in the political process from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/religious-freedom-and-presidential-politics/

Political Participation And Political Repression: Women In Saudi Arabia, Amalkhon Y. Azimova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2015 Saudi Arabian women were for the first time in history granted political space through electoral suffrage. To evaluate whether the new political opening for Saudi Arabian women has improved women's rights and equality in the Kingdom, I sought to conduct interviews to acquire their views and attitudes. In the process my encounters with Saudi Arabian women revealed their fear, cautiousness, and unwillingness to participate politically, which impelled me to discover the relationship between women's political participation and political repression. In the course of this research I learned that political repression inhibits women's political participation, and in Saudi Arabia …

Practicing Representation : The Impact Of Electoral Competition On The Home Styles Of U.S. Representatives, Michael A. Armato

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A great deal of political science literature has illustrated that U.S. Representatives respond to different electoral competition scenarios through modifying voting behaviors, floor statements, and bill sponsorship activities. However, scholarship has yet to significantly assess if and how political competition impacts the ways members of Congress present themselves to their voters and explain policy positions to their constituents. This dissertation longitudinally explores if and compares how members of Congress in different and changing electoral circumstances alter their home style behaviors, or not, due to the presence or lack of robust political competition.

Assessing The Theory Of Demographics As Destiny & Patterns Of Bloc Voting In The United States, Nathan Benjamin Susman

Senior Projects Spring 2016

By 2044, it is predicted that America will be a majority-minority country-- that is, a plurality of minorities will begin to outnumber white people. Some suggest that this demographic trend suggests the demise of the Republican party, thanks to their historical paucity of support amongst minority communities. This has been deemed the "Demographics as Destiny" theory. This paper argues that the theory of "Demographics as Destiny is based on four assumptions:

1) that the population of minority communities will continue to grow by leaps and bounds;

2) that minorities will soon register to vote and cast ballots in proportion to …

Voting, Politics, And Gender: Has America Paved The Way For A Female President?, Hannah Bower

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of candidate gender on voting behavior in presidential elections in the United States. By delving into the vice presidential nominations of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and Sarah Palin in 2008, I provided the baseline for the experiences of Carly Fiorina and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns in 2016. Ultimately, I present the argument that the United States is ready for a female president, either this year or in the near future.

What Bonds Hold? An Examination Of Statewide Bond Referenda In Maine And Other States, James P. Melcher

Maine Policy Review

Since 1990, Maine has held votes on statewide bond referenda than any other state. In this article, James Melcher tackles three main questions: (1) How often do voters approve bond proposals in Maine, and how does this compare to other states? (2) Are some types of bond referenda more likely to pass than others? (3) Does a bond’s placement on the ballot make it more, or less, likely to pass?