Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

Determinants of Voter Turnout Among African American Voters

In the US elections, voter turnout varies throughout various elections. Political parties play an important role in affecting voter turnout. Among the African American voters, however, representation and stance are also influential beyond party affiliations. In our study, we focus on the determinants of African American voter turnout. First, we will examine whether there are any factors that prevent African American voters from voting, such as threats to acts of violence. Second, we will also examine the role of representation in African American voter turnout. We hypothesize that the more election-related threats to violence African American voters experience in the run-up to the election and better representation by African American representatives, the higher are the African Americans' turnout rates. To this end, we will perform multiple regression analyses using the PEW survey research data collected in 2021.