Current Search: Florida Elections (x)
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- Title
- FLORIDA NONPARTISAN TRIAL COURT ELECTIONS: AN ANALYSIS OF VOTER TURNOUT AND BALLOT ROLL-OFF.
- Creator
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Fagan, Shannon L, Jewett, Aubrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This research explains the variance in voter turnout and ballot roll-off in county and circuit nonpartisan judicial elections in Florida from 2014 and 2016. Based on theory, a collection of constituent (demographic and socioeconomic), candidate, competition, and contextual variables is gathered to construct four regression models. Two full regression models were constructed for turnout and roll-off and analyzed using SPSS software, in addition to two best regression models analyzing five...
Show moreThis research explains the variance in voter turnout and ballot roll-off in county and circuit nonpartisan judicial elections in Florida from 2014 and 2016. Based on theory, a collection of constituent (demographic and socioeconomic), candidate, competition, and contextual variables is gathered to construct four regression models. Two full regression models were constructed for turnout and roll-off and analyzed using SPSS software, in addition to two best regression models analyzing five statistically significant variables found within each full model. Presidential year elections and higher populations age 65 and up had positive impacts on voter turnout, while primary elections, campaign expenditures, and populations of minor (other) party registered voters had statistically significant negative effects on turnout. Increases in ballot roll-off were associated with presidential year elections, and populations with more college degrees, higher median household income, and higher percentages of voters registered with no party affiliation or minor political parties. Roll-off decreased in primary elections. While various contextual, competition, and constituent variables had significant impact on both turnout and roll-off in Florida judicial elections, candidate characteristic variables had no significant impact on differences in voter turnout and ballot roll-off.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFH2000296, ucf:45840
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000296
- Title
- DIFFERENCES IN VOTE MARGIN OF CANDIDATES IN THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE.
- Creator
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Stevens, Meghan L, Jewett, Aubrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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What explains differences in the margin of victory in Florida legislative races? Data is collected for all 160 legislative races from 2016 (120 house contests and 40 senate elections) and two sets of analyses are conducted: all races and just competitive races. When looking at all races, five variables are statistically significant in the multivariate model. District party registration difference has a positive effect on margin of victory and the greatest relative impact. Races involving two...
Show moreWhat explains differences in the margin of victory in Florida legislative races? Data is collected for all 160 legislative races from 2016 (120 house contests and 40 senate elections) and two sets of analyses are conducted: all races and just competitive races. When looking at all races, five variables are statistically significant in the multivariate model. District party registration difference has a positive effect on margin of victory and the greatest relative impact. Races involving two major party candidates have a much smaller margin of victory, a contest with a major party versus a minor party (or No Party Affiliation candidate) has a somewhat smaller margin of victory, and a race involving only a write-in candidate as an opponent has a wider margin of victory. House races had somewhat smaller margins of victory compared to senate races. When examining just competitive races (contests that had at least two candidate names listed for an office) only two variables were statistically significant in the multivariate model. District party registration difference had a positive relationship with margin of victory and races involving a minor party candidate as the main challenger had higher margins than contests between two major party candidates.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFH2000443, ucf:45826
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000443
- Title
- EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCE IN SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND SENATOR RUBIO IN THE 2016 ELECTION IN FLORIDA.
- Creator
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Miguez Devesa, Florencia, Jewett, Aubrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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What explains the difference between the county level vote received by President Donald Trump and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Florida general election? Over the last couple of decades, Florida has earned a reputation for being a highly competitive state that impacts control of the White House and congress. As Florida's electorate becomes increasingly diverse, will the Democratic Party begin to win more often as their usual base grows, or will the Republican Party figure out a way to...
Show moreWhat explains the difference between the county level vote received by President Donald Trump and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Florida general election? Over the last couple of decades, Florida has earned a reputation for being a highly competitive state that impacts control of the White House and congress. As Florida's electorate becomes increasingly diverse, will the Democratic Party begin to win more often as their usual base grows, or will the Republican Party figure out a way to remain competitive? The 2016 general election presents an opportunity to analyze the structure of support for two Republican candidates who represent different paths for the future of the Republican Party: Trump, who won Florida by just one percent, and seemingly alienated Hispanics and women with his comments and policy proposals; or Rubio, who won by about eight percent, a Cuban-American thought to be a fresh voice for the GOP and a bridge to Hispanic voters. Regression analysis is used to examine support for Trump and Rubio and also the difference in support between the candidates. The results indicate Trump did better in counties with larger percentages of lower educated whites, lower income households, and higher unemployment rate. Rubio performed better than Trump in counties with larger numbers of Cuban and non-Cuban Hispanics, women, and voters not registered with either major party. These results suggest that Democrats may gain ground in Florida over time if the Trump wing of the GOP takes over the party and if current population trends continue.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFH2000373, ucf:45781
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000373
- Title
- Electing or Appointing School District Superintendents in the State of Florida: A Comparison of Characteristics and Performance of Districts Led by Elected Superintendents Versus Districts Led by Appointed Superintendents.
- Creator
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Smith, Timothy, Johnson, Jerry, Doherty, Walter, Vitale, Thomas, Fritz, Ronald, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Florida and Alabama are the only two states in the United States of America with school districts led by either elected superintendents or appointed superintendents. The other 48 states only have appointed superintendent-led school districts. The current study was conducted to examine the impact of the superintendent governance structure on student learning by analyzing differences in student achievement between Florida school districts led by elected superintendents and Florida school...
Show moreFlorida and Alabama are the only two states in the United States of America with school districts led by either elected superintendents or appointed superintendents. The other 48 states only have appointed superintendent-led school districts. The current study was conducted to examine the impact of the superintendent governance structure on student learning by analyzing differences in student achievement between Florida school districts led by elected superintendents and Florida school districts led by appointed superintendents. The conceptual framework of the study was the tension between democratic localism and professionalism. Dynamics associated with the conceptual framework are relevant to the current debate.This quantitative study included cross-tabulations of the superintendent governance structure by regions and by locale codes. Descriptive statistics were used to define differences between school districts with elected or appointed superintendents in the areas of enrollment, free/reduced lunch, ELL populations, test scores, and graduation rates. An independent samples t-test was used to further analyze the demographic variables. A one-way ANCOVA was employed to determine if the superintendent governance structure or the demographic variables were associated with variances in student achievement.Research findings indicated that appointed superintendent-led school districts performed slightly higher than elected superintendent-led school districts. However, the superintendent governance structure did not have a statistically significant relationship with student achievement. Instead, poverty, as measured by free/reduced lunch rates, had a statistically significant relationship with student achievement.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007727, ucf:52416
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007727
- Title
- BLURRED (COUNTY) LINES: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF VOTING PATTERNS IN FLORIDA AT THE COUNTY AND REGIONAL LEVELS FROM 1950 TO 2012.
- Creator
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Yeargain, Tyler, Pollock, Philip, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Over the last sixty years, voting patterns in the United States have changed dramatically, and this is especially true in the state of Florida. Though there is some literature in the field of political science that outlines the voting and election history of Florida and identifies some trends, this literature is extremely limited and is not comprehensive of the data that is available up to the present day. This study seeks to find Florida's voting patterns and to explain how they can be...
Show moreOver the last sixty years, voting patterns in the United States have changed dramatically, and this is especially true in the state of Florida. Though there is some literature in the field of political science that outlines the voting and election history of Florida and identifies some trends, this literature is extremely limited and is not comprehensive of the data that is available up to the present day. This study seeks to find Florida's voting patterns and to explain how they can be understood by both the casual observer and the political scientist. To do so, unique methodology was applied that used the "relative margin" of both a county and a region in a particular election to give the Democratic nominee's performance context both in the election in question and in history, by comparing the actual margin of victory or defeat of the Democratic nominee to the statewide margin of victory or defeat. This was an illuminating process that ultimately revealed some truths about the election history of Florida: the counties and regions most likely to vote for Democratic nominees in the 1950s and early 1960 are now among the least likely to do so, and the counties and regions most likely to vote for Republican nominees in the 1950s and early 1960s are now considered to be "swing" or "tossup" areas that are regularly and alternatively won by Democratic and Republican nominees. Additionally, the pattern of each region in how it voted in presidential elections was compared to forty seven other states in the country to provide further context as to how the election patterns can be understood in context.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFH0004735, ucf:45344
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004735