University of Massachusetts Amherst

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An editorial in the Boston Globe, arguing that the defeat of Massachusetts ballot Question 2 is “a failure for democracy” cites findings from a UMass Amherst/WCVB poll showing 83% of voters under 30 supported the measure.  Ballot Question 2 supported the  implementation of ranked choice voting in the Commonwealth. (The Boston Globe, 11/4/20)

Jesse Rhodes, Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst and Associate Director of the UMass Poll, was quoted in a Boston Globe article about the inaccuracy of pre-election polling. Rhodes said, “Polling within states for presidential races is notoriously difficult. Given the difficulties of predicting outcomes at the state level, it is essential to take any given poll within a battleground state (particularly one that appears to give a candidate a huge advantage) with a very large grain of salt.”


UMass Amherst has announced that it will offer a Master of Science degree in Data Analytics and Computational Social Science as part of an interdisciplinary academic program taught by over 50 faculty members, which includes cooperation from 13 departments from different schools and colleges across campus.

Ray La Raja, Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst and Associate Director of the UMass Poll, comments in an article about reasons behind increased support for President Trump by Latino voters in this year’s election.  La Raja says Latinos still support the Democratic ticket, but they don’t necessarily agree with the Democratic Party on every issue. “When you have elements of the Democratic Party calling for defunding the police, that is the last thing people in some of these communities want to hear,” he says.

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)

 

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