The phenomenon of midterm surge and decline has become a staple of American electoral commentary, appearing in nearly every journalistic account of congressional midterm elections. The pattern seems intuitive: the […]
Category: Voting and Elections
Town Hall Democracy: From Colonial Participation to Campaign Theater
Recent electoral cycles have witnessed a striking resurgence in “town hall meetings” as a preferred format for political debates and campaign events. From presidential debates to local candidate forums, the […]
Why Don’t Ruling Parties Create Permanent Legislative Majorities Through Redistricting?
Every decade, after the census, state legislatures across America engage in the ultimate exercise of political power: redrawing electoral districts. In most states, the party controlling the legislature and governor’s […]
The Paradox of Political Ambition: Why Anyone Would Want to Run for Office
“You’d have to be crazy to run.” This observation about modern politics has become almost cliché, yet it captures a fundamental puzzle in political science. While public service was once […]
Unpacking Ballot Order Effects: Exploring the Role of Implied Endorsement in Voter Behavior
One of the more intriguing phenomena in electoral politics is the ballot order effect, wherein the first-listed candidate on a ballot often receives a disproportionate share of votes compared to […]
Beyond Gerrymandering: Establishing a Compactness Benchmark for Redistricting
Evaluating the compactness of political districts is a crucial yet complex task in the redistricting process. Although a substantial amount of literature exists on this topic, including numerous methods to […]
Thinking about Drive Thru Voting
Drive-thru voting may be an innovative and practical solution to increase voter turnout and participation at a relatively low cost. Much like drive-thru services for banking, picking up prescriptions, and […]
Why Did State Legislatures Give Up Power to Pick Presidential Electors?
The United States Constitution grants state legislatures the authority to determine the manner of selecting presidential electors. Per Article II, Section 1, “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as […]
Effects of Using AI in Political Campaigns
Artificial intelligence is a hot topic. I’m not researching implications of AI for politics, but have questions I’d like to answered. What are the effects of using AI in political […]
Does the Median Voter Prefer Divided Government?
Hypothesis: Median voters prefer divided government. People distrust unified government and want ambition to check ambition. Is this always true (during wars and crises too)? When does it occur (only […]