Mentor/s
Dr. Isil Akbulut-Gok
Participation Type
Paper Talk
Abstract
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill occurred in 1991, following Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment against Thomas. Similar hearings were conducted for Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford in 2018, after Ford brought forward accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. This study details the impacts these two cases had on female voting behavior in their subsequent elections.
Using an analysis of voting percentages and the statements of American female voters, it was found that, in both the elections of 1992 and 2018, women voted in higher percentages for Democratic candidates. Additionally, as a result of these hearings, women ran for seats in Congress in record-breaking numbers in both years. A sizable majority of these women ran under the Democratic ticket. This data is relevant in predicting the success of each major party in elections if a case similar to the two addressed arises in the future.
College and Major available
Government and Politics
Location
Panel K: Academic Building HC 223
Start Day/Time
4-24-2019 12:30 PM
End Day/Time
4-24-2019 1:45 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Best Writing* (*Competing in this category requires that final paper be uploaded by April 1)
The Impacts of the Hearings of Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill, and Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford on Female Voting Behavior
Panel K: Academic Building HC 223
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill occurred in 1991, following Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment against Thomas. Similar hearings were conducted for Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford in 2018, after Ford brought forward accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. This study details the impacts these two cases had on female voting behavior in their subsequent elections.
Using an analysis of voting percentages and the statements of American female voters, it was found that, in both the elections of 1992 and 2018, women voted in higher percentages for Democratic candidates. Additionally, as a result of these hearings, women ran for seats in Congress in record-breaking numbers in both years. A sizable majority of these women ran under the Democratic ticket. This data is relevant in predicting the success of each major party in elections if a case similar to the two addressed arises in the future.
Students' Information
Kaylee Hale, political science major, Honors, December 2019 graduation