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Intellect

400 million voting records show persistent gaps in voter turnout by race, age, and political affiliation

Tyler Stahle
By Tyler Stahle
August 10, 2022
A new study from BYU and the University of Virginia analyzed 400 million voter records from elections in 2014 and 2016 and found that minority citizens, young people, and those who support the Democratic Party are much less likely to vote than whites, older citizens, and Republican Party supporters. Moreover, those in the former groups are also more likely to live in areas where their neighbors are less likely to vote.
2 Min Read
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Intellect

Want to influence your local government? Vote in off-cycle elections

By Christie Allen
July 12, 2021
As places like Utah, Arizona, Michigan, and Maryland gear up to hold local elections this summer and fall, history predicts that they will see an average of 29–37% fewer voters than they would were their elections held “on cycle,” in tandem with state and federal elections.
3 Min Read
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Intellect

How the Founding Fathers’ children influenced the Constitution

By Cami Buckley
February 12, 2021
The study found that fathers who had more sons were more likely to vote for a stronger national government than fathers of daughters, who preferred a weaker national government with greater state authority.
2 Min Read
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Intellect

Civic participation higher among male veterans compared to other men

By Christie Allen
October 26, 2020
A new BYU study shows that contrary to many assumptions, military service has historically predicted greater civic participation — involvement in formal, purposeful social organizations — later in life.
2 Min Read
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Intellect

Forty years of voting history reveals vote-by-mail does not give either political party an edge

By Christie Allen
August 26, 2020
Researchers evaluated over 40 million individual voting records and found the system is unlikely to advantage Democrats, disadvantage Republicans.
2 Min Read
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Intellect

BYU political scientists publish book on campaign finance

By Jayne Edwards
March 13, 2019
David Magleby reflects on 40 years at BYU
4 Min Read
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Intellect

Does political party trump ideology?

By Jayne Edwards
December 17, 2018
It’s the political scientist’s often-asked chicken and egg: does a person’s political party or policy attitudes come first?
3 Min Read
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Intellect

Want to stop corruption? Text voters

By Jayne Edwards
July 24, 2018
A new study from a BYU political science professor shows texting information about politicians' corruption can improve democratic election outcomes.

 

1 Min Read
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Intellect

BYU professor: It's time to make changes to Supreme Court nomination process

Andrea Christensen
By Andrea Christensen
July 09, 2018
With a Supreme-Court-nominee recently announced and a contentious approval process looming, a BYU political science professor is raising questions about some of the problems associated with the nomination process. 

2 Min Read
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Intellect

All is fair in love and war: Politicians divide parties with violent speech

By K.C. Miller
October 23, 2017
Scroll through Twitter or watch an NFL game and you’ll quickly remember we live in a time of unprecedented political polarization. According to BYU researchers, politicians’ penchant for violent language isn’t helping.

2 Min Read
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Intellect

National attention on student-run exit poll

November 02, 2016
With Utah considered a “tossup” in the Presidential election, all eyes will be on the Utah Colleges Exit Poll and its KBYU broadcast Tuesday night when voting booths close at 8 p.m.

 

2 Min Read
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Intellect

Leveling the playing field: Understanding and minimizing the gender gap in U.S. politics

By Brooke Adams
October 09, 2016
Professor Jessica Preece has authored several new studies that show how women respond to efforts recruiting them to run for political office. 

5 Min Read
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Intellect

Study: Deciding by consensus can compensate for group gender imbalances

September 17, 2012
New experiments in group decision making show that having a seat at the table is very different than having a voice.

2 Min Read
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