Humanities & Society

Recently, Washington University in St. Louis political experts Steven Smith, Betsy Sinclair and Andrew Reeves sat down to discuss the reliability of the 2020 polls, as well as election integrity and voter confidence in the election outcome.

At a time when Americans are increasingly polarized and partisans share a mutual disdain for one another, students in Betsy Sinclair’s “Public Opinion and American Democracy” course at Washington University in St. Louis are learning how to bridge the divide.

Former Congressman Richard Gephardt does not know who will win the 2020 presidential election. Nor does he know when the race will be called. But Gephardt does believe the election will be safe, secure and fair. Gephardt will join former U.S. representatives from both parties Tuesday, Oct. 27, for a panel discussion, “Counting Every Vote: Election Integrity in 2020.”

Three political science experts at Washington University in St. Louis discuss the battle for control of the U.S. Senate and House. This roundtable discussion is the first of a two-part 2020 election series aimed to help listeners better understand the news, polls and issues in this year’s election.  

According to Lerone A. Martin, director of American Culture Studies and associate professor of religion and politics and of African and African-American studies, all in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, modern evangelical voters have supported political candidates for myriad reasons, not all of which are in line with traditional Christian values.

History major Gabriel Rubin, AB ’15, takes Wall Street Journal readers inside the Beltway as the new author of a storied political column.

A new study involving Washington University in St. Louis researchers finds consumers across the United States and in some European countries are ready to start paying for climate action now.

Daniel Epps, associate professor in the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, and Steven Smith, Kate M. Gregg Distinguished Professor of Social Science, weigh in on who has the most to lose before the election if a nomination is completed, how this situation differs from the Senate-stalled Merrick Garland nomination in 2016 and why the nomination system needs to change.

Even before they cast their votes, partisans of different stripes are poised to question the legitimacy of the election outcome, but for different reasons. According to political scientist Steven Smith at Washington University in St. Louis, findings of The American Social Survey, sponsored by the university’s Weidenbaum Center, indicate that the intensity of candidate and media attention about voting fraud threats — real or not — is influencing views of the legitimacy of the election outcome in November.