Business & Government

UVA Blog Aims To Cut Through Election Noise

September 17, 2024 • By Bryan McKenzie, bkm4s@virginia.edu Bryan McKenzie, bkm4s@virginia.edu

Illustration of presidential candidate Donald Trump on the right and Kamala Harris on the left, with a USA flag in the background.

Four University of Virginia entities offer the Election 2024 blog, hosted on the Miller Center of Public Affairs’ website, for voters trying to make sense of politicking and electioneering. (Illustration by Tobias Wilbur, University Communications)

As the 2024 presidential election nears, the debate over ideology, policies and personalities is expected to become increasingly chaotic. Four University of Virginia entities are offering a valuable resource: a special Election 2024 blog, hosted on the Miller Center of Public Affairs’ website, for voters trying to understand what’s going on.

Political experts at the Miller Center, the UVA Center for Politics, the Karsh Institute of Democracy and the UVA Department of Politics are providing insight from different political perspectives.

UVA Today reached out to Melody Barnes, executive director of the Karsh Institute; Ken Stroupe and Kyle Kondik of the Center for Politics; and William J. Antholis, director and CEO of the Miller Center, to learn more about the blog. They combined their answers in a true collaborative fashion.

Q. The blog was first created for the 2020 presidential election. Why did you bring it back for 2024?

A. Absorbing all the information that comes out during a presidential election is akin to drinking from a firehose, especially when you add in elections for all U.S. House seats, 34 U.S. Senate seats, 13 gubernatorial races and other offices and issues that will appear on ballots across the country.

UVA has experts in many fields and disciplines with a host of different perspectives that may be useful to voters as they make important decisions this fall. Our students see and talk to these scholars every day in their classrooms, and we thought it could serve as a useful public service to offer this information to the public, so people have the option to pick and choose topics they find most useful for their own decision-making.

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The blog features regular analysis and forecast modeling from the UVA Center for Politics and professor Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball on how nationally respected journalists and academics think the Electoral College vote is trending. There is timely analysis of the most competitive races across the country. And unlike other rating services, the Crystal Ball typically calls every state for president as well as congressional races before Election Day.

We’ll also contribute timely information on voter registration efforts at UVA through our popular Hoos Vote program, including early voting deadlines, polling locations, in-person programs that are open to the public and much more at centerforpolitics.org.

Q. Is there a particular audience the blog is intended to serve?

A. Because we have so many top experts and former senior practitioners, we knew that the blog could get an audience with their counterparts in government, think tanks and other leading universities. But the blog posts are written to be broadly accessible so that the media and anyone interested in the election could find a place where nonpartisan ideas could come to light.

The experts’ insights also make their way into the classroom, reaching UVA students with interests that span across disciplines in courses related to democracy.

The blog is intended as a public good designed for anyone who wants to learn more about the elections this fall, and hopefully get involved by registering to vote, voting, working to help your preferred candidate/campaign and making your voice heard as a fundamental right of American democracy.

Collage portrait of four departments at UVA focusing on politics. From the top left: Melody Barnes from the Karsh Institute of Democracy, and Ken Stroupe from the Department of Politics and Center for Politics. From the bottom left: Kyle Kondik from the Center for Politics, and William Antholis from the UVA Miller Center.

UVA’s four departments focusing on politics have joined together to create the blog, Election 2024. From top left, Melody Barnes, Karsh Institute of Democracy and Ken Stroupe, Department of Politics and Center for Politics. From bottom left, Kyle Kondik, Center for Politics and William Antholis, UVA Miller Center. (University Communications photos)

Q. From NPR to Newsmax, Fox to CNN, there is a plethora of media and news outlets covering the election. What does Election 2024 offer that is different?

A. The blog offers an escape from the “noise” of a busy campaign season and a chance to dig a little deeper than 30-second television ads and soundbites. You’ll still see competing viewpoints because, believe it or not, all academics do not think alike. But contributors will take time to explain their reasoning and you can make up your own mind.

UVA is close to Washington, and yet far enough away to have perspective. It’s a place where academics and former practitioners can come together, drawn from across the ideological spectrum. We bring experience in campaigns and elections, how the federal government and the presidency work, as well as more widespread trends in our democratic system and culture, including in media and technology, and social and economic movements.

Politics is often messy, but that’s not a good reason to sit on the sidelines. If you don’t like how it works or think it needs to change, then help fix it. If you leave that responsibility to others, you must live with what others deliver.

Larry Sabato has said often that “elections are decided by the people who show up.” We hope this blog helps more people show up and help make the decisions that will guide the ship of our democracy for the next four years and beyond.