Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis examines recent changes in state level voting laws and their effect on the turnout rate of different minority group voters. Individual states are in charge of conducting their own elections as well as having their own requirements for registering voters and early voting. There is no federal law or constitutional mandate that requires states to have similar election laws. but The Voting Rights Act of 1965 tried to ensure the laws passed do not disproportionately exclude certain citizens from the ability to vote. Because of this attempt to not exclude minority groups, election laws can vary widely by states and impact citizens of some minority groups. Some states have chosen to pass laws that make registering and voting more complicated, while others have tried to ensure that both are as easy as possible for each and every citizen. Voting laws can have negative consequences for many groups. Minority populations are often thought to be hit the hardest by many of these election reform laws. Some states have been passing more restrictive laws since 2000 and again in 2013 after section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. This variance in election laws across states and across election years gives a perfect arena to further evaluate the potential effect. This analysis will look at comparing states from 2006 to 2014 in order to determine the effect of restrictive voting laws on turnout.

This study aims to explain why voters in Sweden choose to cast their vote on the, often more unknown and smaller, local municipality party rather than an established larger party. Earlier studies have focused more on why the local parties are created, this study has a different approach as it tries to explain voter behavior rather than party creation. To achieve this goal a survey has been sent out to all the local parties registered for the kommunfullmäktige election before 2018s election. The study finds that the most significant reason for the voters seems to be the representatives of the local party, therefore strengthening the earlier theories of the importance of the so-called local entrepreneur. A second important result was the fact that voters believe that local parties best represent the voters view on local issues, as the local party focuses on trying to fix those issues without the need to take the national policy into consideration. Future studies with a larger sample size could develop the theory further and answer some unanswered questions, such as: Why local parties seem to cluster together in neighboring municipalities.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:21:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mamerto Granja Garcia.pdf: 3048919 bytes, checksum: b442a16b24cfc59b90c080c63cc574cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-24 / Understand the electoral process and to identify the variables explicitly or implicitly involved remains a field full of mysteries as dark as the human mind. Psychosocial factors awakened in the election period refer the researcher to an environment full of symbols , the most unusual emotions and diverse interests that include a search undertaken by the voter , apparently rational , in order to find convergence between their personal aspirations and potential characteristics representative . This paper aims to outline considerations on the subject based on an analysis of voter behavior from three factors that stand out during the election process: indecision, the continuity and the candidate. Indecision will be analyzed from a survey of undecided voters indicated in several polls. It is demonstrated that the simple fact of being located in the stratum of the undecided voter presents trends vote for a particular candidate. On the topic continuity and candidate assesses the issue of parliamentarians that keeps on elective position for long periods, through successive re-elections, and in addition, an analysis of the candidate's profile and its effect on the voter's decision. To all these questions, appropriate quantitative models are used, which seek to create a bridge between research in the social sciences and the analysis of observations by means of statistical / Compreender o processo eleitoral e identificar as variáveis explicitamente ou implicitamente envolvidas continua sendo um campo repleto de mistérios tão obscuros quanto a mente humana. Os fatores psicossociais despertados no período eleitoral remetem o pesquisador a um ambiente repleto de simbologias, as mais inusitadas emoções e interesses diversos que compreendem uma busca empreendida pelo eleitor, aparentemente racional, no sentido de encontrar convergência entre seus anseios pessoais e as características do potencial representante. Este trabalho tem como objetivo delinear considerações sobre o tema com base em uma análise do comportamento do eleitor a partir de três fatores que se destacam durante o processo eleitoral: a indecisão, a continuidade e o candidato. A indecisão será analisada a partir do levantamento dos eleitores indecisos apontados em diversas pesquisas eleitorais. Demonstra-se que pelo simples fato de se situar no estrato dos indecisos, o eleitor apresenta tendências de voto para determinado candidato. No tópico continuidade e candidato, avalia-se a questão dos parlamentares que se mantem no cargo eletivo por longos períodos, através de sucessivas reeleições e como complemento, é feita uma análise do perfil do candidato e seus efeitos na decisão do eleitor. Para todas essas questões, são utilizados modelos quantitativos apropriados, os quais buscam criar uma ponte entre a pesquisa nas Ciências Sociais e a análise das observações por meio de ferramentas estatísticas

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:54:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mamerto Granja Garcia.pdf: 3048919 bytes, checksum: b442a16b24cfc59b90c080c63cc574cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-24 / Understand the electoral process and to identify the variables explicitly or implicitly involved remains a field full of mysteries as dark as the human mind. Psychosocial factors awakened in the election period refer the researcher to an environment full of symbols , the most unusual emotions and diverse interests that include a search undertaken by the voter , apparently rational , in order to find convergence between their personal aspirations and potential characteristics representative . This paper aims to outline considerations on the subject based on an analysis of voter behavior from three factors that stand out during the election process: indecision, the continuity and the candidate. Indecision will be analyzed from a survey of undecided voters indicated in several polls. It is demonstrated that the simple fact of being located in the stratum of the undecided voter presents trends vote for a particular candidate. On the topic continuity and candidate assesses the issue of parliamentarians that keeps on elective position for long periods, through successive re-elections, and in addition, an analysis of the candidate's profile and its effect on the voter's decision. To all these questions, appropriate quantitative models are used, which seek to create a bridge between research in the social sciences and the analysis of observations by means of statistical / Compreender o processo eleitoral e identificar as variáveis explicitamente ou implicitamente envolvidas continua sendo um campo repleto de mistérios tão obscuros quanto a mente humana. Os fatores psicossociais despertados no período eleitoral remetem o pesquisador a um ambiente repleto de simbologias, as mais inusitadas emoções e interesses diversos que compreendem uma busca empreendida pelo eleitor, aparentemente racional, no sentido de encontrar convergência entre seus anseios pessoais e as características do potencial representante. Este trabalho tem como objetivo delinear considerações sobre o tema com base em uma análise do comportamento do eleitor a partir de três fatores que se destacam durante o processo eleitoral: a indecisão, a continuidade e o candidato. A indecisão será analisada a partir do levantamento dos eleitores indecisos apontados em diversas pesquisas eleitorais. Demonstra-se que pelo simples fato de se situar no estrato dos indecisos, o eleitor apresenta tendências de voto para determinado candidato. No tópico continuidade e candidato, avalia-se a questão dos parlamentares que se mantem no cargo eletivo por longos períodos, através de sucessivas reeleições e como complemento, é feita uma análise do perfil do candidato e seus efeitos na decisão do eleitor. Para todas essas questões, são utilizados modelos quantitativos apropriados, os quais buscam criar uma ponte entre a pesquisa nas Ciências Sociais e a análise das observações por meio de ferramentas estatísticas

Introduction: Domestic research studies focused on the interrelationships between political ideology characteristics inherent in policy decisions and the contributions these political determinants exert over health indicators and outcomes are limited. Given the paucity of research that focuses on political and policy support of health at the county-level, this study sets out to utilize the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s (UWPHI) annual County Health Rankings data and examine them within the context of county-based majority political partisanship and economic measures. Methods: This exploratory ecological study examined differences between independent variables: partisan voting behavior (trichotomized as conservative, moderate, and liberal) and median per capita household income in U.S. dollars (by quartile) on dependent variables related to mortality (years of productive life lost) and morbidity (number of poor mental and physical health days) at the county-level to compare differences in political and ideological underpinnings that may act as influencers on health outcomes. Multiple data sources were combined and matched to all 3,140 counties located in the U.S. Two-way between-subjects ANOVA statistical tests were conducted to determine if there is an effect of partisan voter index category on the three aforementioned dependent variables related to health outcomes, and median per capita income by quartile. Results: There was a statistically significant main interaction between median per capita household income by quartile and partisan voter index category on years of productive life lost, F(6,2789) = 19.3, p < .000, partial η2 = .040. While there were also statistically significant interactions between the independent and dependent variables of poor mental and physical health days, results of those analyses should be interpreted with caution. Pertaining to years of productive life lost, post hoc analyses of significant interactions revealed significant differences at the lower income quartile, but not in the expected direction. The conservative category had statistically significant lower years of productive life lost in comparison to the liberal category (M = -8.21, SE = 1.47, p = .000). Also, there were significant differences detected in the upper quartile suggesting that the liberal category has lower years of productive life lost in comparison to the conservative category (M = 7.06, SE = 1.06, p = .000). Conclusion: Results should be interpreted with caution and suggest more research and methodological refinements are needed, particularly related to categorizing county-level political dynamics.

Introduction: Domestic research studies focused on the interrelationships between political ideology characteristics inherent in policy decisions and the contributions these political determinants exert over health indicators and outcomes are limited. Given the paucity of research that focuses on political and policy support of health at the county-level, this study sets out to utilize the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s (UWPHI) annual County Health Rankings data and examine them within the context of county-based majority political partisanship and economic measures. Methods: This exploratory ecological study examined differences between independent variables: partisan voting behavior (trichotomized as conservative, moderate, and liberal) and median per capita household income in U.S. dollars (by quartile) on dependent variables related to mortality (years of productive life lost) and morbidity (number of poor mental and physical health days) at the county-level to compare differences in political and ideological underpinnings that may act as influencers on health outcomes. Multiple data sources were combined and matched to all 3,140 counties located in the U.S. Two-way between-subjects ANOVA statistical tests were conducted to determine if there is an effect of partisan voter index category on the three aforementioned dependent variables related to health outcomes, and median per capita income by quartile. Results: There was a statistically significant main interaction between median per capita household income by quartile and partisan voter index category on years of productive life lost, F(6,2789) = 19.3, p < .000, partial η2 = .040. While there were also statistically significant interactions between the independent and dependent variables of poor mental and physical health days, results of those analyses should be interpreted with caution. Pertaining to years of productive life lost, post hoc analyses of significant interactions revealed significant differences at the lower income quartile, but not in the expected direction. The conservative category had statistically significant lower years of productive life lost in comparison to the liberal category (M = -8.21, SE = 1.47, p = .000). Also, there were significant differences detected in the upper quartile suggesting that the liberal category has lower years of productive life lost in comparison to the conservative category (M = 7.06, SE = 1.06, p = .000). Conclusion: Results should be interpreted with caution and suggest more research and methodological refinements are needed, particularly related to categorizing county-level political dynamics.

The study of race relations in England developed in the modern era amongst conflict between races, political parties and local communities. England, consisting of a predominantly white population, is an interesting case of race relations in that immigrants of color seem to be in the center of many of the most controversial conflicts of the past century. Existing research on race relations in England suggests that the region is largely racist due to the conflicts of the past and the current political success of the anti-immigrant extreme right-wing parties (ERPs). But the times at which these parties have been successful compared with high levels of animosity towards non-white immigrant groups have not been thoroughly studied in the past decade. This research will attempt to answer questions regarding racial hostility and ERP success. Do ERPs receive support from purely racist groups during times of high levels of immigration? Or is their racist rhetoric cloaked by logical justification for anti-immigrant policies? ERPs such as the British National Party and The National Front have risen, fallen, evolved and dissolved since the 1960s. They have, in some cases, worked together to gain votes, but eventually break apart to form small, non-political factions that concentrate on social protests. Most recently, England has seen the decline of these particular ERPs, although anti-immigrant social groups still remain strong. Those that were associated with recently dissolved ERPs may turn their attention United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a party that has a message similar to the BNP, but has a more consistent and attractive political platform. UKIP is an anti-immigrant party and its current success is an interesting case study in this thesis.

No description available.

We have acquired, over the last several decades, a fairly rich understanding of the impact on voter behavior of political communication in general and of political advertising specifically. Yet much of this knowledge pertains to “traditional,” candidate-centered elections; comparatively very little is known with regards to ballot initiative races. In principle, these contests pit not people, but proposed policies, against each other. In practice, however, they not only feature ads discussing policy, but also frequently comprise ads highlighting a measure’s supporters and opponents, be they individuals, non-profit groups, media outlets, industries, or political parties. This, in turn, leads to a basic query: what types of advertising message carry the greatest weight with voters in initiative contests – and how do they differ (if at all) from the effects they have in similar ads run in candidate-centered elections? Through an original experiment, this dissertation aims to break new ground in the voter behavior, media effects, and direct democracy literature by tackling this question. / Political Science

Emotion acts as a primer for our memory retention and encoding processes. In the 2016 election, we saw an increase in negative or hostile rhetoric from candidates. I argue this is due to the use of Twitter and the physical representation of engagement. This paper examines the effect of enthusiasm, anxiety, and hostility in response to political tweets. Tweets from Republican presidential candidates, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio were analyzed for emotional response content to explore mean differences in retweets from the three emotions.