Faculty & Research Published Research Research Education Economics Social Psychology Health Policy Social Entrepreneurship Environmental Policy Ethics Leadership Racial Justice and Equity National Security Advocacy Domestic Policy & Politics International and Global Affairs Democracy Social Equity International Development Research and Commentary (-) Political Science Facet Area of Focus - Research Craig Volden John Holbein Facet People - Research Center for Effective Lawmaking Facet UVA Partner - Research Working Paper Domestic Policy & Politics Political Science Legislative Effectiveness, Progressive Ambition, and Electoral Success Authors: Craig Volden Are effective state lawmakers more likely than ineffective state lawmakers to be elected to Congress? Our findings offer important insights into how American federalism contributes to representation by effective lawmakers. Learn more Published Research Democracy Political Science Civilian national service programs can powerfully increase youth voter turnout Authors: John Holbein, Cecilia Hyunjung Mo , Elizabeth Mitchell Elder Enrolling young people to participate as Teach For America (TFA) teachers has a large positive effect on rates of voter turnout among those young people who participate. This effect is considerably larger than many previous efforts to increase youth voter turnout. After their 2 years of service, these young adults vote at a rate 5.7 to 8.6 percentage points higher than that of similar nonparticipant counterparts. These results suggest that civilian national service programs targeted at young people show great promise in narrowing the enduring participation gap between younger and older citizens in the United States. Learn more Published Research Political Science The Primary Path for Turning Legislative Effectiveness into Electoral Success Authors: Craig Volden, Sarah Treul, Alan E. Wiseman, Danielle M. Thomsen Effective lawmakers are the workhorses of the US Congress, yet we know little about the electoral payoffs of their efforts. Are effective lawmakers better at warding off challengers in the next election? Do they win at a greater rate? Learn more Published Research Political Science Domestic Policy & Politics 400 million voting records show profound racial and geographic disparities in voter turnout in the United States Authors: John Holbein, Michael Barber This paper documents the extent and nature of inequities in voter participation in the United States with a level of granularity and precision that previous research has not afforded. Learn more
Working Paper Domestic Policy & Politics Political Science Legislative Effectiveness, Progressive Ambition, and Electoral Success Authors: Craig Volden Are effective state lawmakers more likely than ineffective state lawmakers to be elected to Congress? Our findings offer important insights into how American federalism contributes to representation by effective lawmakers. Learn more
Published Research Democracy Political Science Civilian national service programs can powerfully increase youth voter turnout Authors: John Holbein, Cecilia Hyunjung Mo , Elizabeth Mitchell Elder Enrolling young people to participate as Teach For America (TFA) teachers has a large positive effect on rates of voter turnout among those young people who participate. This effect is considerably larger than many previous efforts to increase youth voter turnout. After their 2 years of service, these young adults vote at a rate 5.7 to 8.6 percentage points higher than that of similar nonparticipant counterparts. These results suggest that civilian national service programs targeted at young people show great promise in narrowing the enduring participation gap between younger and older citizens in the United States. Learn more
Published Research Political Science The Primary Path for Turning Legislative Effectiveness into Electoral Success Authors: Craig Volden, Sarah Treul, Alan E. Wiseman, Danielle M. Thomsen Effective lawmakers are the workhorses of the US Congress, yet we know little about the electoral payoffs of their efforts. Are effective lawmakers better at warding off challengers in the next election? Do they win at a greater rate? Learn more
Published Research Political Science Domestic Policy & Politics 400 million voting records show profound racial and geographic disparities in voter turnout in the United States Authors: John Holbein, Michael Barber This paper documents the extent and nature of inequities in voter participation in the United States with a level of granularity and precision that previous research has not afforded. Learn more