Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Why Vote, Jeff Taylor

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Voting makes a statement—whether I am on the winning side or losing side—about truth and justice, even though it is only a small statement."

Posting about exercising the right and privilege to vote from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/why-vote-2/

Research Note: Have Puerto Ricans Experienced Increased Voter Registration Rates In Florida Since The November 2016 Presidential Election?, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

This research note analyzes the demographic change of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics in Florida combined with voter registration rates using the Florida Department of State Voter Registration Reports from July 2018. Despite both populations growing in selected counties, which in turn has increased the voter registration rates for Hispanics in the State, there is no conclusive evidence that voter registration rates among Puerto RIcans experienced a significant rise between 2016 and 2018.

Can Beto O'Rourke Defeat Ted Cruz In The November 2018 Texas Senatorial Race? Race, Age, Voter Registration And Participation Rates In The Lone Star State, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report studies the voter registration rates in face of the upcoming Texas Senatorial elections in November 2018.

Methods: Using the latest voter registration data by race and party in Texas and the Population Estimates of the Census Bureau, this report analyzes demographic change in the state and its relationship with the presidential elections of 2016.

Results: The Texas senatorial race between Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke will be decided by voter participation rates of both Republican and Democratic constituencies. Unfortunately, for O’Rourke young people between 18 and 24 years of age, African-Americans, and especially Latinos, have the lowest …

Millennial Voting Patterns In A Politically Polarized America, Nic Matthews

Honors College Theses

As the millennial population has grown into adulthood, this generation has been labeled as an entitled group which is politically inactive, with lower voter turnout than older generations. At the same time, existing literature shows that the federal government in America has become increasingly polarized over the past decades and less representative of the general population which still generally moderate. I argue that low voter turnouts for millennials are a direct result of this increased polarization as a more moderate young people feel like they are not represented by elite politicians, who generally fall into older generations and the highest …

An Analysis Of State Heterogeneity And Voting Patterns In The United States Senate, Tessa Ray Carver

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The United States Senate is one of the major legislating forces in the United States and can make policy impacts that can have significant impacts for the entire nation. The two major political parties in the U.S. have significant influence on the members of this body, yet they are elected to represent each of the different states. Previous research has shown that states and districts can vary significantly in their political leanings and preferences, even from the party that is considered the majority in that area. The purpose of this study is to investigate several forces that may influence members' …

Persistence Of Cultural Heritage In A Multicultural Context: Examining Factors That Shaped Voting Preferences In The 2016 Election, Anna M. Schwartz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The prevailing discourse about the myth of the “melting pot” of American culture implies that heritage cultures are eliminated in favor of a homogenous “American” norm. However, this myth belies the persistence of our cultural heritage in forming our attitudes, morals, and habitual patterns of thought, each of which shape how we participate in our democracy through voting. By contextualizing voting predictors such as authoritarianism, social dominance, and sexism in developmental and ecological theories, this dissertation shows how they are shaped by culture and transmitted through consumption of media and interaction with members of one’s community and family. In an …

Evaluating The Impact Of Oregon's Citizen Initiative Review (Cir) On Voter Decisions, Ari Joaquin Wubbold

Dissertations and Theses

Voters are getting information from more and more sources. Along with this proliferation of sources has come an increasing distrust of traditional mass media. This has created a challenge for voters who seek reliable information when making decisions in the voting booth; including on ballot initiatives. Because voters tend to find ballot initiatives confusing and not easily informed by traditional party cues, the Citizen's Initiative Review (CIR) and the non-partisan, fact-based recommendations they produce have now spread into multiple states. This thesis seeks to gauge whether the CIR is effective at achieving the goals of increasing voter knowledge and encouraging …

The Role Of Social Media In Millennial Voting And Voter Registration, Elesia Glover

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The millennial generation has become the largest generation in the United States. Yet as more members of this generation reach voting age, their propensity to vote remains stagnant. For instance, in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, less than 50% of eligible millennials voted, in comparison to the 69% of baby boomers and 63% of Generation X. Voting is a civic duty essential to a successful democracy; therefore, it is imperative to find solutions to increase millennial political engagement. As millennials represent the largest proportion of users of social media, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationships …