University of Massachusetts Amherst

Search Google Appliance

Links

News

Amel Ahmed, Associate Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst, is quoted in an article about the defeat of Question 2, the ranked choice ballot initiative in Massachusetts. “You’re asking voters who had representatives elected under one system to choose to move to a different system with an uncertain future,” she said. “I’d be surprised if people were not really hesitant about making such a dramatic change to all elections in Massachusetts.” (CommonWealth, 11/4/20)

Raymond La Raja, Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst, was interviewed on the local television program “Mass Appeal” to discuss the history of close elections. (WWLP-TV 22, 11/3/20)

According to the results of a recent UMass Amherst Poll, 84% of Americans nationally, including 81% of Trump supporters and 87% of Biden supporters, made up their minds at least two years ago on how they would vote in the presidential race. Just 5% decided in the last few weeks or days, and only 1%  said they remained undecided. (MassLive, RollCall, 11/3/20; News Office release)

A new UMass Amherst poll asked 1,500 likely Massachusetts voters to rank the U.S. presidents whom they believe have done the most for Black Americans. Abraham Lincoln was ranked first, followed by Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower. Tatishe Nteta, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the UMass poll said, "In an era rife with partisan polarization and racial strife, one issue that brings together Democrats and Republicans, Trump and Biden voters, and African Americans and whites is the strong belief that Abraham Lincoln, the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, is the president that has done the most for African Americans." (The Boston Globe, 11/2/20; News Office release)

Matthew MacWilliams, UMass Amherst Political Science ‘16, discusses his  new book, “On Fascism: 12 Lessons from American History,” and what history can teach us about President Donald Trump's leadership and the views of Americans who support him. (Free Speech TV, 11/2/20)

Charli Carpenter, Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst, comments in an article saying climate change activists use strategy and tactics employed by Cold War era campaigns against nuclear annihilation. She says, “They’re framing climate change as sort of a slow moving weapon of mass destruction. That kind of reframing can be very powerful.” (The Verge, 11/2/20)

 

Peter D’Errico, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst, has resigned from the Leverett, MA Select Board, saying, “Polarization, demonization, bombast and recrimination have invaded the Select Board.”

Fear and disillusionment are widespread among the American electorate as the country nears Election Day, according to a new national survey of likely voters released today by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll. More than 60% of voters say they are “very afraid” if their presidential candidate loses the Nov. 3rd election. (UMass News, 11/02)

A new University of Massachusetts Amherst national poll of likely voters released today shows Democratic nominee Joe Biden holds a 9-point advantage over incumbent Donald Trump in the race for the presidency, garnering support across a wide range of demographics. Biden holds a 53% to 44% lead over the Republican president. Only about 1% of voters say they remain undecided. Meanwhile, early voting is being adopted by a significant majority of those planning to cast ballots. (UMass News, 11/02)

In an article for “Slate,” Paul Musgrave talks about why moving to Canada won’t save Americans from President Trump, “One could dismiss partisans’ threats of moving to Canada as just cheap talk or frustration. That would be a mistake. The casual nature of the threat to emigrate reveals something about what we international relations scholars call the “taken-for-granted” assumptions that underpin Americans’ imagination about the world,” Musgrave writes. He goes on to say that "American politics isn’t something you can opt out of any more than you can choose to be affected by gravity.”

Pages