Library: Changing Electoral Demographics: Home

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Welcome! This guide will serve as a starting point for Shippensburg University students wishing to conduct research on various aspects of changing electoral demographics. You will find sources that introduce you to your topic and keep you up-to-date with links to news articles, research websites, journal articles, research reports and other selected key publications, books & E-books, research organizations and advocacy groups, data sources, and links to general and specialized databases for further research.

Search Terms

Main Term(s): voting - demographic aspects, demographic change, elections - demographic aspects
Related Terms: political parties, gerrymandering, redistricting
Broader Terms: elections, voting, political participation, presidents - elections
Narrower Terms: Hispanic Americans - political activity, African Americans - political activity, minorities - political activity, presidents - demographic aspects

Background

Background Sources

Additional Sources

Books & Reference Books

Books & Ebooks

Demographic Gaps in American Political Behavior by Patrick Fisher
Call Number: EBL E-book
Publication Date: 2014
Demographic Gaps in American Political Behavior examines the political behavior of various groups in the United States in an effort to demonstrate how demographic backgrounds and socialization affect political behavior. Media coverage has disproportionately focused on the red state versus blue state divide, leaving the impression that American political behavior is determined solely by place of residence. This, however, ignores the numerous other political divides that exist in the United States today. In order to better conceptualize the landscape of American political behavior, Patrick Fisher analyzes the political gaps in six different demographics--income, religion, gender, race, age, and geography--and examines the effect these political gaps have on public opinion, policy, and party positioning.
Red, Blue, and Purple America: The Future of Election Demographics by Ruy Teixeira (Editor)
Call Number: EBL E-book
Publication Date: 2009
This book provides a clear and nuanced understanding of the geographic and demographic changes that are transforming the United States and how that transformation is reshaping politics, for the 2008 elections and beyond. The invaluable result is a detailed picture of current trends as well as a clear-eyed assessment of how they will shape American politics and policy during the next two decades. An elite group of demographers, geographers, and political scientists analyze rapidly changing patterns of immigration, settlement, demography, family structure, and religion. Each analysis describes one major trend and assesses its likely impact on politics, for the 2008 elections but for the long term as well. The authors then lay out the most likely implications for public policy. In doing so, they show how these trends have shaped the Red and Blue divisions we are familiar with today, and how the developments might break apart those blocs in new and surprising ways.
Latinos and the 2012 Election: the New Face of the American Voter by Gabriel R. Sanchez (Editor)
Call Number: Ebsco E-book
Publication Date: 2015
In giving President Obama a record level of support (75 percent) and reaching a watershed 10 percent of the voting population, Latinos proved to be decisive in the 2012 election outcome--an unprecedented mark of influence for this segment of the wider electorate. This book explores the following: What is the scope of Latino voter influence, where does this electorate have the greatest impact, and what issues matter to them most? They examine a key national discussion--immigration reform--as it relates to voter behavior, and also explore the influence of Latinos within key states.
Mobilizing Opportunities: the Evolving Latino Electorate and the Future of American Politics by Ricardo Ramírez
Call Number: Ebsco E-book
Publication Date: 2013
The growth of the Latino population is the most significant demographic shift in the United States today. In this book, Ricardo Ramírez identifies when and where Latino participation in the political process has come about as well as its many motivations. Using a state-centered approach, the author focuses on the interaction between demographic factors and political contexts, from long-term trends in party competition, to the resources and mobilization efforts of ethnic organizations and the Spanish-language media, to the perception of political threat as a basis for mobilization.
John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and the Politics of Ethnic Incorporation and Avoidance by Robert Charles Smith
Call Number: Ebsco E-book
Publication Date: 2013
This book explores and compares the role of race, religion, and ethnicity in the 1960 election of John F. Kennedy and the 2008 election of Barack Obama as president.
Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of American Politics by Susan J. Carroll; Richard L. Fox
Call Number: HQ1236.5.U6 G444 2010 and Online
Publication Date: 2009
This book describes the role of gender in the American electoral process through the 2008 elections. It discusses the importance of gender in understanding presidential elections, voter participation and turnout, voting choices, the participation of African American and Latina women, congressional elections, the support of political parties and women's organizations, candidate communications with voters, state elections and includes coverage of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.
A Paler Shade of Red: The 2008 Presidential Election in the South by Branwell DuBose Kapeluck (Editor); Laurence W. Moreland (Editor); Robert P. Steed (Editor)
Call Number: JK526 2008 .P35 2009
Publication Date: 2009
This is a state-by-state guide to the historic election. The scholars included in A Paler Shade of Red cover the 2008 presidential election with detailed, state-by-state analyses of how the presidential election, from the nomination struggle through the casting of votes in November, played out in the South. The book also includes examinations of important elections other than for president, and in addition to the single-state perspectives, there are three chapters that look at the region as a whole. A Paler Shade of Red was developed with support from the Blair Center for Southern Politics at the University of Arkansas.
Election Fraud: Detecting and Deterring Electoral Manipulation by R. Michael Alvarez (Editor); Susan D. Hyde (Editor); Thad E. Hall (Editor)
Call Number: EBL E-book
Publication Date: 2009
Allegations of fraud have marred recent elections around the world, from Russia and Italy to Mexico and the United States. Such charges raise fundamental questions about the quality of democracy in each country. Yet election fraud and, more broadly, electoral manipulation remain remarkably understudied concepts. There is no consensus on what constitutes election fraud, let alone how to detect and deter it. This title brings together experts on election law, election administration, and U.S. and comparative politics to address these critical issues.

Key Publications

States of Change: The Demographic Evolution of the American Electorate, 1980–2060 (Brookings Institution)
This is a major research report prepared in collaboration by the Brookings Institution, the Center for American Progress, and the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The Demography of Inequality in the United States (Population Reference Bureau)
2015 World Population Data Sheet (Population Reference Bureau)

Research Organizations

Immigrants and Immigration - Demographics and Trends (Urban Institute)
Social and Demographic Trends (Pew Research Center)
Population Reference Bureau
A major international think tank focussed on population and demographic change. Search the "Topics/Issues" by selecting topics such as "Population Dynamics" or "Immigration/Migration" and filter by "North America".

U.S. Government Agencies

Data Sources

Hispanic Trends (Pew Research Center)
Major research unit of the Pew Research Center focussed on analyzing Hispanic life in the U.S. See the Data and Resources section.
American FactFinder (Census Bureau)

Databases

General

Ship Discovery Search This link opens in a new window
This library database serves as a search engine to search most library databases at the same time, including magazine and journal databases, e-book collections, and the library catalog. News databases are not included in a comprehensive way. Supplement this with direct searching of ProQuest Newstand and Lexis Nexis Academic. Search results default to items that the library owns, either in online or print format. Remove the "Available in Library Collection" limiter to retrieve items available through interlibrary loan.
Access on-campus or off-campus with your ShipID
Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Complete is our most important general database. covering all subject areas. It is useful for research in all classes, as it includes 26+ million newspaper, magazine, and journal articles, with 50% of these immediately available in full-text.
Access from on campus or off campus with Ship ID.
Contents indexed in Ship Library Discovery Search.
ProQuest Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window
One of the most comprehensive news databases in the world, ProQuest Global Newstream includes access to over 3000 news sources, including 2,200 newspapers, as well as blogs, podcasts, websites and news wire feeds worldwide.
Development note - alt link use stats: (91 total hits, 33 since 7/2012 -- 10 /2012)

Library Guide to Current News Sources
This mobile-friendly guide provide excellent access to the best high-quality new sources.

Westlaw This link opens in a new window
This library database is one of the world's largest full-text databases, including very extensive news, legal, and business information. Along with ProQuest Newstand, it is our primary source of news information.
Access from on campus or off campus with Ship ID.

Specialized

Political Science Complete This link opens in a new window
Political Science Complete is an extensive full-text collection and index to political science literature. It includes online full-text for 500+ academic journals in political science and related fields. It also provides cover to cover indexing for a total of 1,000 political science journals and selective coverage for an additional 1,000 journals in related fields. It also includes a collection of some 340 reference and other political science e-books. In this way, Political Science Complete forms the perfect in-depth complement to the broader coverage found in our current PAIS database.
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Indexes 2.5+ million items in political science, public policy, and international relations, which were produced from 1915 to the present. Contains journal articles, books, U.S. and foreign government documents, websites, research and think tank reports, and international agency publications. The great breadth of this database is perfectly complemented by the in-depth journal coverage of Political Science Complete.
Access from on campus or off campus with Ship ID.
SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Covers scholarly publications in sociology, social work, criminal justice, and related fields. Contains >2.5 million articles and other materials (70% in full text) with deep coverage from 1960 and some back to 1882.
Access from on campus or off campus with Ship ID.

Find Your Own Sources

Library Background Databases

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Library database that covers the most important and controversial issues of the day. Contains the full text of CQ Researcher, a weekly publication. Each issue provides a comprehensive overview and background essay, data tables and graphs, chronology, pro-con starter, and list of major research and advocacy groups. Includes extensive lists of sources and hot-linked footnotes throughout.
Access from on campus or off campus with Ship ID.

Quality Web Sources

In-Depth Journalism

ProPublica
ProPublica is a freely available website produced by a major online non-profit news organization dedicated to in-depth investigative reporting about current issues in the public interest. ProPublica features two kinds of reporting: Investigations, which include a series of in-depth articles about a topic (often between 15 and 30 articles - major topics range from dozens to 100+ articles). MuckReads are shorter reports featuring investigative journalism from other news agencies. Major areas of interest include, among others: healthcare and the health industry, fracking, censorship, money and politics, and financial and economic issues.
Reveal: The Center for Investigative Reporting
Reveal is a freely available website and the online media platform for the Center for Investigative Journalism, a major online non-profit news organization, founded in 1977, and dedicated to in-depth investigative reporting about current issues in the public interest. They publish series of investigative reports on a topic (typically between 10 and 20). Major areas of coverage include: criminal justice, the environment, guns, health care, labor and employment, national security, religion, surveillance and privacy, and veterans.
Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity is a freely available website produced by a major online non-profit news organization dedicated to in-depth investigative reporting about current issues in the public interest, with a special focus on accountability and fairness, especially in terms of the role and influence of money. Topics featured include politics and elections, national security business, the environment, juvenile justice and health.
National Public Radio (NPR)
NPR is one of the most important freely-available sources of investigative journalism. It includes excellent topical pages but these are not easily browseable on the website. Use the High Quality Web Source Finder search box to locate the topical pages for your issue.
Journalist's Resource
This very high quality web site, located at Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and sponsored by leading academic journalism programs, guides journalists and other researchers to find scholarly sources related to many of the most important topics in the news. Whenever the source is not available in full-text, use the discovery layer or library A-Z journal list to get library access to the article or to order it on interlibrary loan.

Newspaper Topic Guides

A number of important national newspapers have topic or issue sections of their website that bring together all the paper's articles on particular topics. The leading example of this is "Times Topics" from the New York Times. Each topic guide/section has a search tool that lets you refine your search.

Unfortunately, these sections are often not easy to browse or locate on the newspaper websites. Use the "High Quality Web Source Finder" search box above to search for your topic. Then choose the Newspaper Topic Guides tab to look for these in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. If you should hit a pay wall when browsing these newspapers, simply search for articles from any of these three papers using the ProQuest Newstand library database.

Science News

Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS Reports)

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is the public policy research division of Congress. It issues detailed research reports on a very wide range of issues. CRS doesn't maintain its own website, but its reports are available through several organizations and libraries.

EveryCRSReport.com
Website that attempts to make all CRS reports easily available to the public. The result of a bi-partisan movement to get Congress to pass a bill requiring open access.
Congressional Research Service Reports (University of North Texas)
The University of North Texas maintains a freely available digital library collection of Congressional Research Service reports, with the goal "to provide integrated, searchable access to many of the full-text CRS reports that have been available at a variety of different web sites since 1990" -- website. Best search tool for finding CRS reports. Update holdings of specific reports through the Federation of American Scientists or through a web search on the name of a report.
Congressional Research Service Reports Archive (Federation of American Scientists)
As a public service, the Federation of American Scientists maintains this free archive of CRS reports.

Web Directories

Public Policy Issues and Groups (Vanderbilt Univ.)
This freely available website produced by the Vanderbilt University Libraries provides an alphabetical topical directory to important websites on some 50 current issues. These guide pages typically include sections for these kinds of web resources: Basic Sites, Government, International, News, Statistics, Interest Groups and Research Centers and Other Educational Sites.

Changing Electoral Demographics

Home

Search Terms

Background

Background Sources

Additional Sources

Books & Reference Books

Books & Ebooks

Key Publications

Key Publications

Research Organizations

Research Organizations

U.S. Government Agencies

Data Sources

Databases

General

Specialized

Find Your Own Sources

Library Background Databases

Quality Web Sources

High Quality Web Source Finder

In-Depth Journalism

Newspaper Topic Guides

Science News

Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS Reports)

Web Directories

Contact the Ezra Lehman Memorial Library