The Democracy and Polarization Lab studies modern-day challenges to democratic governance, diagnosing problems and testing potential solutions. How can we reduce polarization, improve the information environment, maintain the integrity of the electoral process, and foster democratic accountability?

Tackling these questions requires examining the interplay of voters and political actors. To do so, we leverage a wide array of administrative, electoral, and social media data on voters and politicians, allowing us to study the causal factors that improve or hamper the democratic process.

A central goal of the lab is training graduate students and helping them to build research profiles to address the emerging threats to democratic governance in the future. We support graduate students’ research with regular mentoring at weekly lab meetings, resources for data acquisition, and close collaborations.

• Harris School of Public Policy’s “Not Another Politics Podcast” – “Always Be Updating: New Research On Old Topics” (5/19/21)

• The New York Times – “Georgia’s Election Law, and Why Turnout Isn’t Easy to Turn Off” (4/3/21)

• The Missoulian – “GOP-backed group claims ‘irregularities’ on Missoula County 2020 ballots” (3/20/21)

• The Atlantic – “The Republican Party’s Irrational War on Voting Rights” (3/20/21)

• The Wall Street Journal – “Mail Ballots Not a Clear Boost for Turnout or Biden” (3/5/21)

• The Washington Times – “Dismantling Trump’s Election Fraud Claims” (2/8/21)

• USA Today – “Fact check: Statistical Analysis Supporting Pro-Trump Supreme Court Case is ‘ludicrous’" (12/10/20)

• The New York Times Magazine – “Will Americans Lose Their Right to Vote in the Pandemic?" (12/10/20)

• Newsmax – “Study: Universal Vote-by-Mail Doesn’t Give Either Party an Advantage” (9/28/20)

• BBC News – “Will votes be safe in the US presidential election?" (9/10/20)

• FiveThirtyEight – “Why Trump’s Racist Appeals Might Be Less Effective In 2020 Than They Were In 2016” (8/27/20)

• The Economist – “America Should Prepare Now for Voting by Mail in November’s Election” (5/18/20)

• The Hill – “Study Finds Universal Vote-By-Mail Doesn’t Provide Advantage to either GOP or Democrats” (5/16/20)

• The National Review – “Vote by Mail, Just This Once” (4/16/20)