http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/elections Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Mon, 18 May 2026 14:06:28 -0400 Mon, 18 May 2026 14:06:28 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1634/more-choices-more-voices By Nikko Bilitza - The relationship between party system fragmentation and voter turnout is not entirely understood in contemporary political science literature. It is often assumed that party system fragmentation is a primary driver of proportional representation's tendency to produce higher turnout, however its effects on turnout across electoral systems has been sparsely studied. This paper seeks to assess this relationship through a sample study of 17 countries with both majoritarian and proportional electoral studies. The study finds that increased party system fragmentation increases voter turnout in countries... Sun, 30 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1634/more-choices-more-voices http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1519/explaining-the-muslim-brotherhoods-electoral-success-in-egypt-examining-the-parliamentary-elections-of-2011-and-presidential-election-of-2012 By Jacob C. Potts - The most convincing arguments for the Muslim Brotherhood’s performance must be divided into two sections: their success in parliamentary elections under Mubarak and the elections following the ousting of Mubarak in 2011. In regards to the elections under Mubarak, I argue that the Brotherhood’s focus on the middle class, the actions by the state, and mistakes made by the secular opposition greatly helped them achieve more success than other opposition parties in the Mubarak era. In the elections of 2011 and 2012, the Brotherhood’s focus on economics, their vague platform, wide... Wed, 11 Jan 2017 10:04 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1519/explaining-the-muslim-brotherhoods-electoral-success-in-egypt-examining-the-parliamentary-elections-of-2011-and-presidential-election-of-2012 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1454/tweeting-2016-how-social-media-is-shaping-the-presidential-election By Matthew Das Sarma - Something seems different about 2016. Something many of us just can’t place our fingers on. Sure, The Donald looms disconcertingly over us, a threatening testament to American fear, but it’s not like he has transformed the political atmosphere all that much. Historically, politicians have spanned the whole spectrum of negativity and bigotry—anti-radical, anti-Catholic, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Semitic, anti-foreigner, anti-Left, and anti-pretty-much-everything else. While former Republican candidate Ted Cruz and Republican nominee Donald Trump continue to echo this tradition... Mon, 26 Sep 2016 11:06 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1454/tweeting-2016-how-social-media-is-shaping-the-presidential-election http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1311/comparing-the-effectiveness-of-positive-and-negative-political-campaigns By Peter A. Gregory - In the United States, Americans elect 50 governors, roughly a third of the U.S. Senate’s 100 members, all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and, every four years, a president. Together, these are the most high profile elections in the United States, and they amount to approximately 540 elections in total. While numerous other elections also take place throughout the country at lower levels, these 540 elections generally garner the most media attention, and those campaigning in these elections generally spend significantly more money than do others running for public office... Wed, 18 Nov 2015 07:59 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1311/comparing-the-effectiveness-of-positive-and-negative-political-campaigns http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/995/predicting-the-fate-of-the-judiciary-after-obama By Sarah E. Pugh - One often-admired trait of the federal courts is their apolitical nature. Judges that are appointed for lifetime tenure do not face the pressures that come with reelection and trying to please constituents. While this may be true, much of the judiciary has its roots in politics – judges are nominated by the President and then confirmed by the Senate respectively, thus exposing them to the hyperpolarization of the current political system. Under the Obama Administration, the judiciary has provided a unique set of challenges and obstacles and will likely become a significant part of the Obama... Sun, 08 Feb 2015 11:08 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/995/predicting-the-fate-of-the-judiciary-after-obama http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/990/e-electioneering-the-political-and-cultural-influence-of-social-media-in-the-2008-and-2012-presidential-elections By Rebecca Pineiro - Early in 2007, a junior senator with a thin legislative résumé but an inspiring background in community organizing approached a Facebook executive during the site’s period of exponential growth. That senator, later known as our 44th President, was gearing up to embark on his own professional expedition: his monumental campaign for the American presidency. Senator Obama had his own ideas for the network’s leap into politics and potential for growth. At this momentous juncture, Senator Barack Obama wondered if the network’s reach and usage could be used as a tool... Sat, 07 Feb 2015 04:19 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/990/e-electioneering-the-political-and-cultural-influence-of-social-media-in-the-2008-and-2012-presidential-elections http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/948/chris-christies-use-of-hurricane-sandy-in-new-jerseys-gubernatorial-elections By Celeste R. Aguzino - Christie had developed and honed these skills while serving as U.S. Attorney for the State of New Jersey. Prior to his appointment, Christie was a lawyer and for a brief time, a lobbyist. He worked to deregulate state utilities and prevent security fraud. As a U.S. Attorney from 2002 to 2009, Christie was noted for exposing public corruption cases. His administration notably found Republican Essex County Executive James W. Treffinger and Democratic State Senator Wayne R. Bryant guilty of bribery and fraud.[1] His aggressive, dogged approach to state corruption established his credibility and earned... Wed, 17 Dec 2014 09:46 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/948/chris-christies-use-of-hurricane-sandy-in-new-jerseys-gubernatorial-elections http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/903/comparing-israels-2009-and-2013-elections-impacts-of-the-spiral-of-silence By T M - Section 2 introduces this theory, which was previously applied to German election campaigning in the 1970s[3] and U.S. presidential competition between Reagan and Carter[4] in 1980, among others. In order to provide the reader with an idea of the complex Israeli political sphere, section 3 introduces the main political actors and parties, and places them in the broader context of Israeli domestic and foreign politics. In section 4, the ‘spiral of silence’ theory is applied to evaluate whether this theory can explain key differences between the 2009 and 2013 Israeli elections, and the... Fri, 13 Jun 2014 09:50 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/903/comparing-israels-2009-and-2013-elections-impacts-of-the-spiral-of-silence http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1594/partisan-pork-how-house-delegation-cohesion-affects-earmark-spending By Matthew Waskiewicz - The federal earmark is a topic often lamented by the general public as corrupt and wasteful. Until recently, this "pork" was a mainstay of politics in Washington. Because distributive spending is often used to advance partisan goals such as reelection, previous scholarship suggested that legislators of the same party would work together to secure this money, resulting in higher federal earmark spending per person. Using a dummy variable for party majority within a House delegation, state-level data was analyzed through a regression analysis of House delegation cohesion and federal earmark spending... Sat, 31 May 2014 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1594/partisan-pork-how-house-delegation-cohesion-affects-earmark-spending http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1595/the-effects-of-electoral-systems-and-gender-quotas-on-female-representation-in-national-legislatures By Amy Manning - Women make up anywhere from 0% to 56% of the national legislatures around the world. Research has attributed this wide spectrum to political, socioeconomic, and cultural or ideological factors. After testing these existing theories on a sample of 188 countries, this study offers a more comprehensive explanation for this wide variation in female representation. A quantitative analysis of the cases yields four statistically significant factors: type of electoral system, presence or absence of quotas, socioeconomic status, and predominant religion. These factors all affect the proportion of women... Sat, 31 May 2014 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1595/the-effects-of-electoral-systems-and-gender-quotas-on-female-representation-in-national-legislatures http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/976/the-agenda-setting-potential-of-saturday-night-live By Jessica Leano - This study explored the effects of the late-night sketch comedy Saturday Night Live in the political sphere, specifically analyzing its impact using agenda-setting theory. As primarily secondary research, this study reviewed previous studies suggesting that satirical news segments and critical portrayals of politicians have a tangible effect on voters’ perceptions of political issues. In the 2008 Presidential Election specifically, vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s favorability ratings dropped in accordance with the program’s parodies, illustrating Saturday Night Live&rsquo... Thu, 29 May 2014 06:36 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/976/the-agenda-setting-potential-of-saturday-night-live http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/823/public-perceptions-of-media-bias-a-meta-analysis-of-american-media-outlets-during-the-2012-presidential-election By Daniel Quackenbush - There has been a considerable surge of scholastic inquiry in recent years into understanding the factors responsible for the fluctuating levels of public trust in the American news media. With every election year, the American public continues to perpetuate the stereotype that the American news media is ideologically biased, negatively shaping other citizens' views of the American political system and impacting their willingness to participate in the electoral process. This study asserts that the likely factors contributing to public perception of a liberal media bias are indicative of the ideological... Mon, 09 Dec 2013 12:31 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/823/public-perceptions-of-media-bias-a-meta-analysis-of-american-media-outlets-during-the-2012-presidential-election http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/789/women-in-tv-broadcast-news-reporters-and-sources-in-hard-news-stories By Mariah Irvin - This study, conducted during a two-week period leading up to the 2012 Presidential Election, analyzed three prime time news broadcasts to determine whether male journalists reported more hard news stories than female journalists throughout a segment of increased political activity and whether male and female sources were used equally in said stories. The results showed that male reporters were assigned more hard news than female reporters, and males were a little more likely to assigned to hard news than soft news. Male sources were used more as experts in hard news by both male and female reporters... Fri, 15 Nov 2013 04:43 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/789/women-in-tv-broadcast-news-reporters-and-sources-in-hard-news-stories http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/787/truth-and-context-in-the-2012-presidential-debates By Rachel Southmayd - Today’s modern age has led to a plethora of information available at the fingertips of all voters. During the 2012 presidential election cycle and specifically, during the three presidential debates that occurred in the fall, candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney spewed facts and political rhetoric, often seemingly with little regard for the truth or context of those facts. An overabundance of information available to today’s voters could not help them to separate the truth from the lies told by the candidates, especially as they seemed far more interested by buzz-worthy moments... Fri, 15 Nov 2013 02:43 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/787/truth-and-context-in-the-2012-presidential-debates http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/719/assessing-state-judicial-selection-the-missouri-plan-vs-partisan-elections By Alexander E. Hopkins - Since the United States Constitution was ratified in the late-18th century, the question of state judge selection has been an important topic in legal theory. Since 1976, it has been one of the most widely debated issues in law school journals throughout the country (DuBois, 1986, p. 31). The main question that is pondered is whether judges should be independent on the bench or accountable to constituents. The five main methods of selection are: Gubernatorial Appointment, Legislative Election, Partisan Election, Non-Partisan Election and the “Missouri Plan” (Baum, 2007, p. 107). For... Sun, 13 Jan 2013 10:33 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/719/assessing-state-judicial-selection-the-missouri-plan-vs-partisan-elections http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/716/democracy-up-close-in-somaliland-reflections-of-an-international-election-observer By Dustin R. Turin - In May 1991, Somaliland emerged as a self-declared independent state in the aftermath of the failure and subsequent collapse of Siyad Barre’s Somalia. Although ethnically and linguistically Somalilanders are undifferentiated from their counterparts in southern Somalia, the northwestern region of Somalia has achieved an important distinction: while Somalia remains fundamentally anarchic, with no substantial national government to speak of, Somaliland is conversely peaceful, democratic, and remarkably safe by comparison. The de facto state held successful national elections in 2003 (presidential... Mon, 17 Dec 2012 11:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/716/democracy-up-close-in-somaliland-reflections-of-an-international-election-observer http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1618/increasing-voter-turnout-can-mass-transit-help By Rosie Romano - Since the mid-20th Century, voting rights activists have sought to open the American electoral system and reduce the costs of voting for all citizens. In this study, I look specifically at the impact of polling place localization in relation to mass transit stops on voter turnout rates in the District of Columbia. By compiling precinct-level data on the 2008 General Election and the 2010 Democratic Primary Election and measuring the distance between polling places and the nearest Metrorail station, I am able to determine the extent to which mass transit can lower the cost of voting. Through linear... Thu, 31 May 2012 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1618/increasing-voter-turnout-can-mass-transit-help http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/603/cedars-to-the-east-a-study-of-modern-lebanon By Constantine J. Petallides - The political history of the Middle East is a complex story wrought with instability, conflict, religious and ethnic cleavages, and artificial imperial and colonial borders. These challenges manifest themselves in varied political systems, norms, and tensions--both domestic and external--in the countries throughout the region. Looking at Lebanon, we see a country that has been, for centuries, a central meeting place of all these conflicts and challenges. From its time under Ottoman rule, Lebanon was beset by religious conflict and infighting among rival religious sects. These violent flare-ups... Fri, 23 Dec 2011 01:19 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/603/cedars-to-the-east-a-study-of-modern-lebanon http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/594/reassessing-the-house-of-lords-why-the-lords-should-remain-unelected By Oliver Rieche - Since Lord Rosebery’s well-known speech there has been much debate about changes in the composition of the House of Lords. Major reforms included the Life Peerages Act 1958 and later the House of Lords Act 1999, which reduced the hereditary members to 92.[2] Nevertheless, constitutional experts such as Rodney Brazier argue that the House of Lords continues to be “unelected, unrepresentative and unaccountable.”[3] The Coalition Government is therefore working on another reform bill to provide for a wholly or largely elected second chamber. This essay will argue that such a drastic... Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/594/reassessing-the-house-of-lords-why-the-lords-should-remain-unelected http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/403/2010-colorado-senate-race-how-bennet-defeated-buck By Malissa Candland - The 2010 Colorado Senate race was one of the most contentious and hard-fought races in the country during the 2010 election cycle. Like many other races, it pitted an establishment Democrat against a tea-party backed Republican. The outcome of the race was important for Democrats and Republicans alike. The Democrats watched the race hoping to keep a comfortable majority in the Senate and Republicans were anxious to oust another vulnerable Democrat. Early on, Republicans had high hopes for defeating the incumbent, Senator Michael Bennet, who had poor approval ratings. However, several factors,... Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:15 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/403/2010-colorado-senate-race-how-bennet-defeated-buck http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/388/patty-murray-vs-dino-rossi-analyzing-the-2010-washington-state-senatorial-race By Manisha S. Kaura - The 2010 Washington State senatorial race was crucial for Republicans, as it could have earned the GOP a Senate majority and eliminated the likelihood of Vice President Joe Biden’s casting a tie-breaking vote. A victory from Dino Rossi, the Republican candidate, would have given the Republicans their 51st Senator and saved them the hassle of trying to win California, where polls have traditionally run against them (1, 68). The Democratic nominee, Patty Murray, ended up winning the race by 4.3% with 1,217,849 votes to Rossi’s 1,119,081 (12, 38, 41, 53). Given the race's significance... Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:13 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/388/patty-murray-vs-dino-rossi-analyzing-the-2010-washington-state-senatorial-race http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/271/thirty-six-days-of-turmoil-george-w-bush-and-the-2000-election By Eric J. Alves - During his first term in office, President George W. Bush claimed that he had a clear political mandate from the voters of the United States to achieve his political goals. However many refuted the claim that President Bush had a political mandate considering he had lost the national popular vote and only gained the White House with a razor thing victory of the State of Florida, which took thirty-six days and the United States Supreme Court to decide. Nevertheless, the political environment of elected officials in Florida and in the U.S. Supreme Court gave Bush confidence that he would win Florida... Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/271/thirty-six-days-of-turmoil-george-w-bush-and-the-2000-election http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/208/us-presidential-elections-in-the-age-of-millenium-media By Blaise C. Lucey - So the media's attention span becomes the American attention span (and vice versa). This paper's goal is to provide a brief overview of the thematic and trivial material now called "news" in our country, with the particular focus being on the presidential elections of 2004 and 2008. The New York Times has been chosen as the source for these headlines, as it is supposedly one of the most liberally-biased papers. After observing what The Times decided was important in the election months of 2004 and 2008, we will enter the forbidden territory of election fraud, the biggest and most unmentioned scandal... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:57 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/208/us-presidential-elections-in-the-age-of-millenium-media http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/127/the-effect-of-marriage-on-political-identification By Shikole Struber - Party identification among individuals is determined by multiple factors including current marital status and other variables such as income and education level. The rate of marriage for people over the age of 18 in the United States has decreased from 72% in 1970 to just 59% in 2002 (US Census Bureau). Marriage is superseding both race and income as the biggest class division of the century (Rauch, 2001). The extent of spousal influence on political behavior is a debated issue that has just recently gained interest by researchers, where in the past Party identification was thought to be more... Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:46 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/127/the-effect-of-marriage-on-political-identification http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1111/a-report-on-electoral-turnout-in-the-united-kingdom-long-term-and-contemporary-factors-of-voting By Bethan Foweraker - Electoral turnout in the United Kingdom varies significantly from one election to the next, be that in a general election or in local elections.1 We originally wanted to discover the reasons as to why the public choose to vote or not. Having read research by academics such as Denver, we discovered that this question has already been asked on numerous occasions and therefore wouldn’t be very beneficial. For many years voting has been seen as irrational.2 To expand our idea, we decided to establish what persuades a voter when voting. We were curious to know what persuaded the voter in deciding... Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1111/a-report-on-electoral-turnout-in-the-united-kingdom-long-term-and-contemporary-factors-of-voting http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1101/london-mayoral-election-something-old-something-new By Robert Euter - At 7.30 am, Glenda Jackson breezed past Euston station. In New Labour fashion she was purposeful but unhurried, radiating a ‘trust me with your future’ manner: truly one of the people, just another commuter. The entrance steps of the hall were thronged, as always, with Socialist Workers, lobbyists and an American woman who assured everyone of the sins of bombing Milosevic, Saddam, Gerry Adams and so on. She also advised us vociferously that Ken Livingstone supported ‘international capitalism’ (as opposed to ‘national socialism’?) by virtue of his position... Sat, 01 Jan 2000 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1101/london-mayoral-election-something-old-something-new http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1121/democracy-in-action-witnessing-the-student-guild-elections-of-1999 By Effendi HJ. Maidinj - Of course, this elections is just one of the many requirements of democracy and by far, is one of the most important requirement.  The Guild elections may not be as glamorous as the national elections in the United Kingdom, but it provides a ‘prototype’ of democracy.  In other words, the Guild elections are more of an experimental type to the bigger elections such as the national elections.  However, I came to know that the system of elections is quite different from what I have seen, having witnessed two important national elections over the last ten years in... Fri, 01 Jan 1999 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1121/democracy-in-action-witnessing-the-student-guild-elections-of-1999 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1160/should-politicians-be-legally-accountable-for-their-election-promises By Brendan Norris - It would be impossible to implement the legal enforceability of election promises though, because of the format and procedures of our governmental’ and legal systems. The major reason is that the question, in stating “legally accountable,” suggests that election promises should be enforceable before the courts. However, that would mean that judges would be overseeing the operation of Government and the Parliament. If this was the case, it “would be contrary to Dicey’s Rule of Law” (Senator O’Chee, 1996), which requires laws to be made by Parliament... Wed, 01 Jan 1997 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1160/should-politicians-be-legally-accountable-for-their-election-promises http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1175/a-victory-for-the-centre-americans-re-endorse-clinton-and-the-politics-of-divided-government By John Heathershaw - In one of the more memorable moments of the otherwise dull BBC coverage of US election night, veteran political commentator Charles Wheeler pointed out that President Clinton had just been re-elected by American voters who had little if any idea of his agenda for his second term in office. ‘What is his agenda?’, he asked Democratic Party advisor David Doak. Wheeler, clearly perturbed by the lack of debate in the 1996 campaign, was amazed when he was clearly unable to give him an answer. ‘I watched a debate-‘ , Wheeler began, charitably trying to move the discussion... Wed, 01 Jan 1997 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1175/a-victory-for-the-centre-americans-re-endorse-clinton-and-the-politics-of-divided-government