Department of Political Science

Much like what’s happening today, the 2004 Washington gubernatorial race was littered with allegations of fraud, protests, court cases and questions raised about mail-in ballots. Election day was on Nov. 2, 2004. The race wouldn’t truly be over until June 7, after a Chelan County Superior Court judge ruled in Christine Gregoire’s favor for the position. Mark Smith, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

It’s the most expensive race in Washington’s 2020 election. In Washington’s 3rd Congressional District in Southwest Washington, Republican incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler is fighting for a sixth term against second-time Democrat challenger Carolyn Long. Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs at the UW, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, are interviewed.

How the country has arrived at its current circumstances and what can be done to move forward as a nation were the main themes of an Oct 21 lecture Francis gave called “Protests for the Soul of a Nation.”

The 2020 election is fast approaching, and with the protests against police brutality still continuing throughout the country, race is one of the hot issues for voters. It’s been talked about in all of the presidential and vice presidential debates; there have been Tweets and speeches made about the division of race and the current need for unity. In response to the importance of the issue of race, the history department organized a webinar with UW professors to discuss it.

During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. 

The confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett cements a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court. The new justice could mark the start of a far-reaching shake-up in American politics, according to constitutional law experts. Scott Lemieux, assistant teaching professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

Louie Tan Vital (MPA, 2019 | BA, Political Science and Comparative History of Ideas, 2016) discusses her own experience with generational differences in Asian American voting trends. 

You probably already know that in certain corners of the internet, people are earnestly arguing that the Earth is flat. A few decades ago, they’d have been printing leaflets or newsletters. Now they can spread their misinformation to a much wider online audience. Mark Alan Smith, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

After Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, people in liberal areas were in shock — and wondering what a Trump presidency would mean for the country. A week after the election, we asked academics to write their thoughts. With hindsight being 2020, KUOW revisits the most prescient of those pieces, including those by 10 UW faculty members.

Young people have historically driven social and political movements. The program “Student Election Connection” is channeling that engagement into votes. Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, is interviewed.

Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, says the increase in minority voters in Washington is due in large part to children of immigrants coming into the electorate. However, he notes that Latino and Asian American voters turn out at lower rates than African American and white voters.

The pace of voting in this year’s election is well beyond anything the state saw in 2016. After the ballot is put into a drop box, a rigorous collection process follows. James Long, associate professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

Experts and lawmakers warn that undoing the last four years of immigration policy requires more than just a new president. Sophia Jordán Wallace, associate professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

“Many scholars have studied various aspects of mail-in voting, looking at how secure it is, how susceptible to fraud it might be, and what voting officials need to do to handle an influx of ballots arriving by mail,” writes Jeff Inglis, The Conversation’s politics + society editor. Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, and Charlotte Hill, of the University of California Berkeley, are referenced.

Mark Alan Smith, professor of political science at the UW, talks about polling in the 2016 election and what it can tell us about the 2020 election.