2012 Election

Authors Dan Balz, Lynn Vavreck and John Sides discuss the 2012 presidential election with David Lauter of the Los Angeles Times and John Seignethaler of the First Amendment Center. The “Perspectives on Election 2012” event was held Sept. 24, 2013, at the First Amendment Center on the Vanderbilt campus.To learn… Read More

They spent a total of $1 billion on TV ads, but most were instantly forgettable—and none swayed opinion. Next time, writes John G. Geer, make the ads memorable. Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: Amazing Vanderbilt research you have to see to believe! How this “wearable robot” helps paraplegics walk! How winning a football game could influence who wins the presidency. [vucastblurb]… Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: Why one Vandy professor says pawn shops are a better economic move than you realize. Which gives a bigger political punch to undecided voters—the debates or negative ads? Go behind closed “Dores” to see what game day is really like. Read More

Negative advertising may be obligatory in the presidential campaign, but it doesn't seem to be paying off this time around when it comes to changing voter's minds. “It looks like we are way past much bang for the buck with these ads,” said John Geer of Vanderbilt University. Read More

(iStockphoto) Early voting in Davidson County is now open through Thursday, Nov. 1, at designated times and locations. You must be registered in Davidson County and present a photo ID to vote. Election Day 2012 is Tuesday, Nov. 6. View a sample ballot. Locations Belle Meade City… Read More

John Geer (Daniel Dubois/Vanderbilt) Negative ads, excessive campaign spending, and the agenda of the “lame duck” Congress were topics of discussion at the Oct. 15 Federal Forum panel held at The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt multipurpose room. The event, hosted by Vanderbilt’s Office of Federal… Read More

Watch video of a lunchtime panel discussion on “Election 2012 and the Congressional ‘Lame Duck’: What’s at Stake?”. The panel, hosted by Vanderbilt’s Office of Federal Relations and the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, will be moderated by Beth Fortune, vice chancellor for public affairs, and will feature: John… Read More

At the moment, Republicans and Democrats can’t even agree on the appeal of a giant yellow Muppet. Democrats gave Big Bird a favorable rating by an 85 percent margin. Only 55 percent of Republicans held that view. Read More

The deadline to register to vote in Tennessee is Monday, Oct. 8. If you are not yet registered to vote in Tennessee and plan to do so on Election Day, Nov. 6, you must register in person at the Tennessee Election Commission, Metro Office Building First Floor, 800 Second… Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: Why our obsession with stock prices is killing U.S. companies. How powerful is the shrinking undecided voter? Vanderbilt takes you from farm to fork [vucastblurb]… Read More

Mitt Romney can still win the presidential election if he can convince Americans he has the best plan to reinvigorate the economy, according to analysis by Vanderbilt professor John Geer of two new ads released by Romney’s campaign. Read More

There now is only a small and ever dwindling chance that the remaining undecided voters might influence the outcome of the presidential election, said a Vanderbilt University political scientist. Read More

The video of Mitt Romney dismissing 47 percent of Americans as unreachable by Republicans had little effect on swing voters who will probably decide the Nov. 4 election. Read More

Hope is being offered by Vanderbilt professor Marc Hetherington and a colleague that generational turnover and a few adjustments now could cause the end of gridlock in Congress in the long run. Read More

A new attack ad that chides Mitt Romney for refusing to release more of his tax return information is failing to spark much of a reaction. Read More

One of Mitt Romney’s latest campaign commercials against President Barack Obama seems to be hitting a nerve among independent voters, data from the Vanderbilt/YouGov Ad Rating Project shows. Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: Vanderbilt goes “through the wormhole” How voters are getting their say on political attack ads From the desert to the dugout… Who ya with? [vucastblurb]… Read More

Nearly a third of American voters finds a new ‘positive’ ad by President Obama contrasting his approach to the economy with that of Mitt Romney to be 'disgusting.' Read More

Voter reaction to campaign advertisements by the presidential candidates will be evaluated this fall through a partnership between Vanderbilt University and YouGov, a prominent research firm. Read More