This week on the Senate menu: constituents are calling from both sides about the nomination of Neil Gorsuch (and to oppose joke-telling of any kind during SCOTUS-hearings), and people are calling from mainly one side regarding the recent internet bill. Friday, I was invited to attend the Legislative Salute dinner. The invitation from two years ago looks exactly like this year’s invitation with a changed date and location.
But let’s get into the nitty-gritty with this post. My close to final research question is: How does living in a rural county affect the voter turnout of Native Americans in Arizona, particularly those living in Apache County?
For my final presentation, I’ll begin with a historic look at democracy by discussing rural Athenians, those who were citizens of Athens but lived outside the physical city wall. According to Nicholas F. Jones in his book Rural Athens Under the Democracy, though Athenian culture and society is often homogenized, rural Athens experienced a distinct culture that distanced it from its urban counterpart and resulted in a feeling of otherness and hostility. I’m still looking for sources that analyze voting patterns and political participation in rural Athens.
From there I will transition to how these social and cultural divides linger today in the state of Arizona. I will address the differences in population, environment, and form of government between Athens and the modern United States. Then I will move into my research regarding Apache County, which will largely involve analyzing the voter-turnout statistics over the last ten years. I will supplement this with research regarding Native American political participation in the United States at large, and I think I’ll speak to the staffer in our office who is in charge of outreach to Apache County. Additionally, if the statistics are available, I will compare turnout rates in federal elections to tribal elections.
The difficulties I foresee are related to the problems faced by Apache County itself. Historically, you are more likely to vote the wealthier and more educated you are. According to the US Census Bureau, 38% of people in Apache County live in poverty, and only 10.8% of people over 25 hold a Bachelors or higher degree, compared to the national average of 30.4%. The result is, because these factors are so entangled, it will be difficult to conclude that voters in Apache County have low political efficacy as a result of living outside major population centers, not receiving the attention of political candidates, or having difficulty accessing polling places.
I normally try to avoid dry posts, but as we are approaching the end of the SRP season, I felt it was necessary. I am not incredibly worried about losing access to my site in the next two weeks because my internship continues until May 5th, so I have plenty of time to continue speaking with staffers. Anyways, if you have questions, post them below. If your question is complicated, you can always call your senator at: (602) 840-1891
Or you can visit me at the Subway off of the 101 if you’re very desperate.
Hi Nicole, your term project was really fun to read and comment about and I hope you have a good time in college. Your research question is very interesting and I think your senior project was the best.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. I just committed to my university, so that was pretty scary (I'M GOING TO COLLEGE). Also, I don't really think I deserve the title for best senior project, but if it includes a gift card, I'll take it.
DeleteHi Nicole, I think that it is really great to analyze rural Athenian culture and link it to a society that is functioning over 2,000 years later. It shows how some aspects of society linger on for long periods of time. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your project in the next few weeks!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I like about the comparison, and it leads to the question: what is it about democratic institutions that would appear to favor urban areas over rural ones? It would seem that if you compared the turnout (and hence influence) of an equal number of people from a city and scattered across towns, there is a variation that is often overlooked. If I had more time, I would look to see if this is the case in other forms of government--if power is concentrated in urban areas.
DeleteHi Nicole! I'm glad you've finally made the clear connection between your research in Arizona and that regarding Athens. Do you plan to identify many core problems that caused the low political efficacy in rural areas and some potential solutions, or are you going to focus on one dominant issue?
ReplyDeleteMany of the core problems are easy to identify because they are factors linked to low political participation across the country. What I'm interested in, I suppose, is: if a person and their twin were the same age, gender, religion, and had the same education and income, but one lived in a city and one lived in a town with a population of less than 2,000, would they be equally likely to vote? If not, why?
DeleteI don't know if a solution could be generated in this time, but I could certainly point out the factors that need to be changed for change to take place.
I have liked this turn in focus for your project to be frank, as it applies to a local and national level simultaneously without much change in diversity, as most rural towns are more similar to one another than large cities. When you stated that the voter turnout would be lower because of other factors than location, I thought that it would still apply because location generally determines how likely you are to receive a higher education and the job market available. Am I wrong to believe that those factors are still incorporated within you report? Other than that, good luck!
ReplyDeleteThey are, to be sure. But I feel it is common knowledge that education, income, and so on impact how likely a person is to vote. To add something new, I am interested in seeing (if possible) whether living in a rural area as an isolated variable impacts voter turnout. I'm not quite sure if I can do this, because the factors you mentioned overlap so much and I don't know if I want to be untangling knots at this point.
DeleteHi Nicole! It's good that you're starting to narrow down on your presentation. It seems like you have a lot of researching ahead of you, but I'm sure it's interesting work. I like the connection you're making between the political culture of rural Athens and tying to Arizona; it seems like a different but effective transition. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI feel like my project at this point is a monster I have on a leash, but I like my monster and hopefully it will behave in the upcoming month. Looking over my blog, I often think: how did I get here?
DeleteHi Nicole, I really enjoy the nuanced connections that you make from ancient to modern society. Will you still focus on the factors of political efficacy in these places? Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question. I think that with the time I have left, I'm going to turn away from political efficacy and focus on the more concrete voter turnout in order to give myself space to explore both time periods.
DeleteHi Nicole! The dinner you were invited to seems like it was a great opportunity! Can't wait to see how your research finishes it up.
ReplyDelete