Election 2018
Democrats Want to Get Rid of the Electoral College. It is Not Going to Happen (and Maybe that’s Best).
By Michael A. Smith, Emporia State University With the 2020 campaign season having already begun (ugh), Democrats are revving up to do away with the Electoral College. For them, the case is a strong one. In the entire history of the United States, only five Presidential elections have seen the…
MPSA’s Top 10 Blog Posts from 2018
As the calendar year begins to wind down, we take a look back at our most-read articles from 2018. We encourage you to take a quiet moment for another look as you may have missed an article or may simply enjoy the re-read. Please take a moment to share what you would like to see more of in the new…
The Big Lessons of Political Advertising in 2018
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Screen shot of Beto O'Rourke’s Facebook ad, 2018. Facebook Erika Franklin Fowler, Wesleyan University; Michael Franz, Bowdoin College, and Travis N. Ridout, Washington State University The…
The Only Thing We Have to Fear
By Michael A. Smith of Emporia State University Senator and Vice-President Hubert Humphrey‘s nickname was The Happy Warrior. He worked tirelessly on behalf of causes he championed, and usually seemed joyful when doing so, even though he lived through and served during one of the most divisive…
Magnify Your Voice: A Day Off for Democracy
By Betsy Sinclair of Washington University in St. Louis “Are you frustrated that you see a need in your community that isn’t met by government or industry? Do you believe that need could be remedied through purposeful action? Will you ask your family, friends and neighbors to help initiate change?…
Generation Z voters could make waves in 2018 midterm elections
By Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Tufts University Unlike the much-studied millennials, we don’t know much about Generation Z, who now make up most of the 18- to 24-year-old voting bloc. These young people started first grade after 9/11, were born with the internet, grew up with smartphones and social…
You can trust the polls in 2018, if you read them carefully
By Josh Pasek, University of Michigan and Michael Traugott, University of Michigan A Michigan township collects votes in 2016.Barbara Kalbfleisch/shutterstock On the morning of Nov. 8, 2016, many Americans went to bed confident that Hillary Clinton would be elected the nation’s first female…
Primary Elections: The Value of an Endorsement
By Chapman Rackaway of the University of West Georgia How involved should political party leaders get in primary elections? Should a President endorse a primary candidate, despite standards of public party neutrality? Party organizations were once used to determine nominees internally in caucuses…
Blue Wave, Red Wave; What Wave? No Wave
By Chapman Rackaway of the University of West Georgia Political scientists and pundits alike face a contradictory challenge in the concept of the “wave” election. Journalists use the term commonly, and 2018 is no exception. The hashtag #bluewave is a constant presence on political Twitter feeds,…