Political Parties and the 2022 Elections
For the first time in 2020 we observed a large difference in how Democrats and Republicans voted; Democrats were more likely to vote by mail while Republicans were more likely to vote in person. Although this difference decreased in 2022, Democrats were still significantly more likely to vote by mail in 2022. This may suggest that in future elections we will see Democrats voting more by mail than Republicans.
Another big difference we saw after 2020 was how Democratic and Republican states changed their voting laws. Democratic states tended to adopt laws that made voter registration easier, expanded voting by mail, and expanded early voting. Republican states tended to pass laws restricting voting by mail and making it harder to vote. Democrats accused Republicans of passing these laws to discourage people from voting.
Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Download: Political Parties and the 2022 Elections
Videos
News Articles
Oregon Lead Nation With Highest Voter Turnout
Fox News
01/06/2023
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/oregon-leads-us-highest-voter-turnout
Republicans Helped Arizona Champion Voting By Mail, Now They Want It Gone
Arizona Mirror
06/13/2022
Alleged Voter Intimidation At Arizona Drop Box Puts Officials on Watch
Washington Post
10/20/2022
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/20/arizona-ballot-drop-boxes/
A Majority of Pennsylvania’s 16,000 Discarded Ballots Were From Democrats
Philadelphia Inquirer
01/09/2023
The “Cost” of Voting in America
New York Times
09/21/2022
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/20/us/politics/cost-of-voting.html
The Disingenuous Effort to Cast Suspicions on Vote Counting
Washington Post
11/08/2022
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/08/disingenuous-effort-cast-suspicion-vote-counting/
Assessment
Debate: Should the parties use poll watchers during elections?
Should all voters be allowed to vote by mail?
Poll: Which is your preferred method of voting: voting by mail, voting early in-person, or voting in-person on election day?
Does early voting make you more likely to vote?
Short Answer: What needs to be true to make sure poll watchers do not intimidate voters?
