Date of Award
1-1-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Political Science
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Jonathan Winburn
Second Advisor
Conor Dowling
Third Advisor
Jonathan Klingler
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Voting is an important aspect of a democracy because it allows people get involved in the political world and it is one of the relatively cheapest ways to do with no monetary costs. Moreover, voting helps keep elected officials accountable. Over the years there have been barriers to disenfranchise groups but over the years they have been abolished. Up to date, there are four voting methods a voter could do: in-person on Election Day, in-person prior to Election Day, absentee ballots, and all-mail ballots. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the United States changed all aspects of life, including elections. Furthermore, the pandemic brought out extreme partisan differences. Because of these, I believe people will be taking advantage of earlier methods and Democrats will be voting earlier. I found mixed results for the first hypothesis, but the second hypothesis was supported. In conclusion, this paper adds itself to the Covid-19 and liberalized voting method literatures, two growing literatures in the contemporary years. Additionally, the implication of this paper is to help inform citizens there are other voting methods besides traditional in-person Election Day voting.
Recommended Citation
Griffin, Bailey Rose, "CASTING THE BALLOT: AN ANALYSIS OF VOTING METHOD PREFERNCES FROM 2012 – 2020" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2220.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2220