If You Don't Know Who This Is, Don't Vote

For men, elections are dominance competitions

(NEWSER) - Male McCain voters were feeling a little less macho when the results of the 2008 election rolled in. Duke researchers tested testosterone levels in 183 voters across election night. Testosterone normally drops over the late evening—but male Obama voters’ levels remained stable, while McCain voters saw a bigger drop than usual. No such effect took place for women, notes Political Wire. More»

(NEWSER) - Increased turnout by minorities in last year's election helped Barack Obama take several swing states and advance in GOP strongholds, new data from the Census Bureau shows. Turnout was 64%, the same as the last presidential election—but a growing population means that 5 million more people voted in 2008 than 2004. Minorities account for almost the entire increase; 2 million more blacks, the same number of Hispanics, and 600,000 more Asians cast a ballot. More»

Congresswomen flourish in areas with skewed gender ratios

(NEWSER) - Alaska is reliant on male-dominated industries like mining and fishing, and the state has 106 men for every 100 women—the most gender-skewed state in the country, where the overall ratio is 86:100. Yet Alaska is one of just five states with an elected female governor, and one of Alaska's senators is a woman as well. Statistics bear out this "Palin paradox," writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com: women are more likely to be elected in districts where the male-to-female ratio is higher. More»

Dramatic shift in electorate favors liberals: poll

(NEWSER) - Blue states are far bluer than red states are red, says a new Gallup poll. Party registrations favor Democrats—they lead by 10 or more percentage points in 29 states and the DC, compared to four states where Republicans dominate—suggesting that Dems can expand on ther gains they made in last year's elections, the Hill reports. More»

Stability gives candidates chance to compete more in Western democratic style

(NEWSER) - If Iraq’s tumultuous 2005 elections were a trial run at democracy, the current provincial race has main-event flavor, the Washington Post reports. Greater stability has allowed town-hall gatherings, where voters grill some 14,000 candidates running for 440 seats on everything from housing to militarization. And campaign posters, T-shirts and jingles are ubiquitous ahead of the Jan. 31 vote. More»