Newswise — Arizona's largest school district will no longer open its facilities as polling sites due to increasing safety concerns and election-related tensions. This decision reflects a broader trend where heightened school safety protocols and misinformation have led many schools to opt-out of hosting polling sites, complicating efforts to provide accessible voting locations.

Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to provide context, commentary and analysis on this matter. If you would like to speak to an expert, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Tayah Frye at [email protected]


Misinformation/Disinformation

Ethan Porter is an Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs and of Political Science at George Washington University. He holds appointments in the School of Media and Public Affairs and the Political Science Department and is the Cluster Lead of the Misinformation/Disinformation Lab at GW's Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesJournal of PoliticsBritish Journal of Political SciencePolitical BehaviorPolitical Communication and other journals. 

National/Local Election Implications

Christopher Warshaw is an associate professor of political science at the George Washington University, and is an expert on redistricting, American politics, representation, public opinion, as well as state and local politics. Warshaw evaluates the links between public opinion, elections, and political outcomes in city and state governments, as well as the U.S. Congress. He also examines how political institutions, such as term limits or direct democracy, influence political representation. 

Jesse J. Holland is an assistant professor and the associate director of the GW School of Media & Public Affairs. He is an award-winning journalist and the author of the first novel featuring comics’ most popular black superhero, The Black Panther. He is a former Race & Ethnicity writer for The Associated Press, having been recognized as one of the few reporters to be credentialed to cover all three branches of the American government during his career: the White House, the Supreme Court and Congress. 

Imani M. Cheers is an associate professor of digital storytelling at the George Washington University. Cheers is an award-winning digital storyteller, director, producer, and filmmaker. As a professor of practice, she uses a variety of mediums including video, photography, television, and film to document and discuss issues impacting and involving people of the African Diaspora. Her scholarly focus is on the intersection of women/girls, technology, health, conflict, agriculture, and the effects of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. Cheers is also an expert on diversity in Hollywood, specifically the representation of Black women in television and film.

Matt Dallek, a professor at GW’s Graduate School of Political Management, is a political historian with expertise in the intersection of social crises and political transformation, the evolution of the modern conservative movement, and liberalism and its critics. Along with four co-authored books, Dallek is the author of Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right, which explores the history and influence of America’s right-wing activism.

Political Violence

Andrew Thompson is an assistant professor of political science at George Washington University. His research studies how racial demographic changes alter political perceptions and democratic commitments. Further, he explores how racial demographic changes motivate stronger support for anti-democratic practices among the American public. He shows that partisan considerations are central to understanding how Americans process information about the changing U.S. demographic landscape, and how supportive they are of anti-democratic policies.

Jon Lewis, research fellow at the GW Program on Extremism, studies domestic violent extremism and homegrown violent extremism, with a specialization in the evolution of white supremacist and anti-government movements in the United States and federal responses to the threat. Lewis is the co-author of two major Program reports on the events of January 6th, as well as numerous long form publications on the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and their role in the events of January 6th In addition, Lewis manages the Program's Capitol Hill Siege database, which is a public tracker for all federal cases stemming from J6 participation.

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