EDITORS: Watch and link to a video on midterm patterns and predictions at: http://www.ns.umich.edu/podcast/video2.php?id=1266
Newswise — The University of Michigan has experts available to discuss voting behavior, voting patterns, and other aspects of the coming midterm elections. They include:
Midterm seat loss patterns and predictions --Michael Traugott, professor of communication studies and research professor at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) Center for Political Studies, explains the factors behind midterm seat loss patterns and predicts 2010 Congressional race outcomes. He also assesses how the outcome is likely to affect the next presidential election.
Voter behavior and public opinion --Vincent Hutchings, professor of political science and a principal investigator of the American National Election Studies, studies the circumstances that contribute to voter attentiveness, and to issue voting. He has also conducted research on how political advertising influences public attitudes about racial and ethnic groups, and about women. For more information about the American National Election Studies, visit http://www.electionstudies.org
The impact of campaign advertising and news media coverage of elections--Nicholas Valentino, associate professor of political science and communication studies, and associate research scientist at ISR, studies how campaign communications and news media coverage of political campaigns affect the choices citizens make on election day.
How ideology and personal value choices affect voting behavior--William Jacoby, research scientist at the ISR Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, can discuss citizen choices among "core" values such as liberty, equality, and economic security. He is co-author of "The American Voter Revisited."
Persuasion and opinion change--Arthur Lupia, professor of political science and research professor, ISR, conducts research on voting, elections, persuasion, and opinion change. He is the author of "The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know?" Lupia is available to discuss how citizens make decisions when they lack information, and whether they would make better decisions if they were better informed. He has also studied the role Republican voters played in President Obama's election.
Partisanship and lobbying--Richard Hall, professor of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Department of Political Science, has studied participation and representation in Congress, congressional committees, congressional retirements, campaign finance reform, legislative oversight, and lobbying in Congress. He can discuss the implications of the elections for partisanship and agenda-setting in the 112th Congress.
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