Voting, Elections, and the Political Process – serie

The Resilient Voter: Stressful Polling Places and Voting Behavior provides a new perspective on the role voting barriers play, demonstrating that they not only discourage participation but also affect the quality of votes cast. Offering an interesting and unique approach to the study of voting barriers, Shauna Reilly and Stacy G. Ulbig investigate the possibility that complicated ballot language, provisional voting, and long polling place lines cause some voters to cast ballots in a manner contradictory to their preferences.Building on arguments that stressful polling place conditions subject citizens to stress that can prevent them from casting complete ballots or even choosing to vote at all, the authors ask whether those who endure polling place frustrations and persevere to cast a ballot might become so stressed by their experience that they are unable to mark their ballots in a manner consistent with their standing policy preferences. Using a creative experimental design, the authors examine the ways in which complex ballot language, registration difficulties, and long polling place lines affect voters’ stress levels, and how such anxieties translate into the willingness to cast a complete ballot and the ability to vote in a manner conforming to previously expressed preferences.The authors demonstrate that even though most voters prove remarkably resilient in the face of some potentially stressful polling place barriers, they are not immune to all polling place conditions. Further, they illustrate that some segments of the electorate tend to be more vulnerable to polling place stressors than others and illustrate the ways in which the compound effects of multiple barriers can exert an even wider impact.

The rhetoric and political communication of the 2016 Presidential Election was arguably unconventional, partisan, and polarizing—becoming a defining characteristic of the tone and feel of the campaign. In this volume we examine how rhetoric and various political communication strategies influenced and shaped the contours of the election and ultimately its outcome. Witnessing the most diverse electorate in U.S. political history, we look at how voters were primed for an anti-establishment/outsider candidate and how various rhetorical and communication appeals were used to strategically engage different groups of voters and at times, leave out or even scapegoat others. We also analyze how rhetoric and political communication shaped the debate on key issues such as climate change, immigration, national security, gender, and representation. In an age where having a social media presence is an essential campaign tool, we examine how Twitter was used by candidates and its impact on the electorate and news coverage. Overall, we demonstrate that political rhetoric and communication is impactful, bearing electoral consequences and the potential for policy outcomes, giving the reader much to consider as we approach the next midterm and general election.

The 2016 Presidential Election: The Causes and Consequences of a Political Earthquake critically analyzes the 2016 presidential election. The chapters in this book identify key factors behind the election of Donald J. Trump, explore the unconventional campaign, analyze the unexpected election result, evaluate the forecasting models, and speculate on the effect of the election outcome on politics and governance in the Trump Administration.

This book goes beyond examining Donald Trump as a unique and controversial President to place his election in a historical and systematic perspective. It offers an analysis of the 2016 presidential nominations and election, the economic and demographic foundations of the election of Mr. Trump, the realignment of the party system, ideological polarization in American politics, the realities of a postindustrial society locked in a global economy, and the outlook for American democracy in the twenty-first century.

This book examines the voting restrictions that have been implemented across the United States in the post-2008 recession era. Navigating the literature and conventional wisdom, this book navigates the fiscal, partisan and racial influences on voting rights laws in a post-recession era. Reilly explores the role each of these three influences have had on policy and culminate in a trifecta of effects. This is the first contribution to the literature that explores fiscal impacts with the interaction of race and partisanship.

The 2024 Presidential in the South: Déjà vu All Over Again features prominent Southern politics scholars who detail the historic 2024 election. Exploring the issues that drove Southern voters in recent elections. From the nominations process in early 2024, and concluding with a chapter focusing on where the region may be headed politically in the next decade. A chapter providing a retrospective on southern presidential elections, particularly during the Trump years, from 2016 through 2024. Additionally, each state chapter includes analysis on notable congressional races and important patterns in the region. Since the South continues to evolve politically and demographically, The 2024 Presidential in the South will be an essential resource for academics, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of changes and continuities in contemporary Southern politics.

The 2020 Presidential Election in the South details how the 2020 presidential election developed in the twelve states of the South. This edited volume features preeminent scholars of Southern politics who analyze the momentous Election of 2020. In addition to chapters organized by state, this volume also focuses upon the issues that drove southern voters, the nominations process in early 2020, as well as a chapter focusing on where the region may be headed politically in the next decade. In addition, each state chapter includes analysis on notable congressional races and important patterns at the state level. The authors also provide keen insight into the ever-changing political patterns in the region. Since the South continues to evolve in terms of politics and demographic shifts, this book will be an important tool for academics. However, the book will also enlighten journalists and political enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of contemporary changes in Southern electoral politics.

The unexpected shift from the election of Barack Obama and the post-racial hope to the racial confrontations in the Trump era begs the question: Why did such a big volatile swing happen in such a short period of time? Uncertainty reigns in volatile political times. This book aims to provide a systemic model for understanding how political volatility throughout the U.S. history has had its root in two competing racial and religious groupings. Moreover, the groupings grounded in white supremacy and egalitarianism have collided, contested, and facilitated the configuration and reconfiguration of the atomic political structure. As demonstrated in this book, the antagonism between the two competing identity groupings led to a history of political volatility in the United States. Contrary to the endless “political deadlocks” suggested by the scholars of American political development, this book explains how and why the two orders persist, reach peaks of volatility, and why one temporarily achieves prominence over the other. Going beyond the simplistic view of racial and religious hierarchy, this book provides an account rooted in structural tensions, strategic imperatives, opportunities, and threats on collective actions.

The unexpected shift from the election of Barack Obama and the post-racial hope to the racial confrontations in the Trump era begs the question: Why did such a big volatile swing happen in such a short period of time? Uncertainty reigns in volatile political times. This book aims to provide a systemic model for understanding how political volatility throughout the U.S. history has had its root in two competing racial and religious groupings. Moreover, the groupings grounded in white supremacy and egalitarianism have collided, contested, and facilitated the configuration and reconfiguration of the atomic political structure. As demonstrated in this book, the antagonism between the two competing identity groupings led to a history of political volatility in the United States. Contrary to the endless “political deadlocks” suggested by the scholars of American political development, this book explains how and why the two orders persist, reach peaks of volatility, and why one temporarily achieves prominence over the other. Going beyond the simplistic view of racial and religious hierarchy, this book provides an account rooted in structural tensions, strategic imperatives, opportunities, and threats on collective actions.

Election Day, as it was once known, is no more. In 2020, with COVID-19 raging, over 60 percent of American voters cast early ballots. Even before the pandemic, more than one-third of voters routinely did so. Early voting represents a radical change in American elections. It means new options for voters, new procedures for election clerks, and new challenges for political candidates. In Tuesday’s Gone, Elliott Fullmer explores the effects of this new reality. Applying new data and innovative methods, he reports that early voting is bringing new citizens to the polls. Examining four recent elections, he finds that both early in-person and absentee options increase turnout by several points when aggressively implemented by state and local officials. But early voting does come with some side effects. Fullmer cautions that early voting increases down-ballot roll-off, widens racial disparities in voting access, and alters the competitive environment in presidential nomination contests.