Donald Trump, a ‘Rigged’ Election and the Politics of Race

As he seeks to revive his embattled candidacy, Donald J. Trump has seized on a new argument to rally his supporters and to explain away a possible defeat in November: that Democrats are preparing to exploit weak voter identification laws to win a “stolen election” through fraudulent voting. … Election […] Read more »

Trump supporters far less confident than Clinton backers that votes will be counted accurately

In a campaign marked by skepticism toward the political process, only about half of all registered voters (49%) are “very confident” that their vote will be accurately counted in the upcoming election. This view is particularly striking among supporters of Donald Trump and stands in contrast to the 2004 and […] Read more »

Asking Too Much of Democracy

The 2016 election cycle has confounded a good deal of scholarship and punditry so far. But one book that’s coming out smelling like a rose is Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels’ new book Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government. This book’s novel argument is that we’ve […] Read more »

Fear of the ‘Greater of Two Evils’ Could Spur High Turnout

With three months remaining, the 2016 presidential election is already cemented as a new election archetype — one characterized by unconventional election warfare, politically incorrect posturing and extraordinary intraparty conflict. … There are more headlines to come in this campaign, and many will focus on the unprecedented high level of […] Read more »