Todd Donovan

Western Washington University, Political Science, Faculty Member

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Conducts research in representation, elections, and public opinion.

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Political Encyclopedia of U.S. States and Regions

More Parties or No Parties: The Politics of Electoral Reform in America. By Jack Santucci. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. 248p. $49.95 cloth

Perspectives on Politics, Nov 30, 2023

North America and the Caribbean

Springer eBooks, Aug 18, 2017

The introduction of referendums and initiative in North America was deeply influenced by the popu... more The introduction of referendums and initiative in North America was deeply influenced by the populists in the late 19th Century and the Progressives in the early 20th Century who championed direct democracy as a means of controlling the moneyed elite. Today provisions for referendums exist in all but one of the US States and provisions for initiatives in roughly half of the United States. The number of referendums and initiative was modest until the 1970s, when it began to increase—often due to efforts by wealthy individuals. Overall, direct democracy has not been for sale and there is no evidence that special interest groups have been able to ‘buy’ the results. The chapter also presents an overview of the experiences with referendums in the Caribbean and Canada.

A Modified National Primary: State Losers and Support for Changing the Presidential Nominating Process

Political Science Quarterly, 2010

The entire political universe, from the heights of the Washington establishment to the depths of ... more

The 2012 US Election: A Domestic and Global Perspective

A post-election overview on what was \\u27normal\\u27 about the 2012 US election compared to prev... more A post-election overview on what was \\u27normal\\u27 about the 2012 US election compared to previous presidential elections,and an assessment of how 2012 was unlike other US elections. The discussion will also consider how Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are perceived overseas, and how Americans\\u27 attitudes about their elections compare to attitudes held by citizens in other democratic nations. About the Lecturer: Todd Donovan Professor of Political Science, Western Washington Universit

8 Advanced Democracies: The Erosion of Traditional Democratic Citizenship

Lynne Rienner Publishers eBooks, Aug 1, 2016

Self‐Reported Understanding of Ranked‐Choice Voting

Social Science Quarterly, Apr 23, 2019

Objectives. Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is relatively complex compared to plurality voting. We tes... more Objectives. Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is relatively complex compared to plurality voting. We test if some voters find it more challenging. Methods. We conducted surveys in RCV cities and plurality cities to assess how voters reported understanding voting instructions, and how they reported understanding election systems. Results. Fewer voters reported instructions were easy to understand in RCV cities. Within RCV cities, we found little evidence of race/ethnic differences in reported understanding, but older voters reported less understanding of instructions in RCV cities and less understanding of RCV elections. Across all cities, Asians and women reported less understanding of elections generally, and education correlated with greater reported understanding. Conclusions. Our evidence is not consistent with concerns about a racial/ethnic bias specific to RCV, but suggests a need for additional voter education.

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The elements of social scientific thinking

St Martin's Press eBooks, 1992

... The Elements of Social Scientific Thinking TENTH EDITION KENNETH HOOVER WesternWashington Uni... more

Prospects for a Reasoning Public

contemporary Psychology, Mar 1, 1993

Cognitive Mobilization

SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, Feb 22, 2017

Demographic differences in understanding and utilization of ranked choice voting

Social Science Quarterly, Oct 19, 2022

ObjectivesNew York City is the largest U.S. jurisdiction to use ranked choice voting (RCV). We ex... more ObjectivesNew York City is the largest U.S. jurisdiction to use ranked choice voting (RCV). We examine New York and other U.S. cities using RCV to assess if there were different levels of understanding and utilization of RCV across demographic groups.MethodsWe placed items on a survey conducted during the 2021 New York City RCV election that had been included in two previous surveys of different U.S. cities using RCV.ResultsWe find higher levels of reported understanding and rates of ranking multiple candidates in NYC than in other jurisdictions. We find no systematic differences by race/ethnicity in terms of reported understanding of RCV in NYC or the other samples. We also find no systematic association between age and reported understanding of RCV. Respondents with more education were more likely to report understanding RCV in each sample. People of color were less likely to report ranking multiple mayoral candidates in NYC and California, and respondents with more education were more likely to report ranking in two samples.ConclusionsApart from these important differences in utilization, our search for race/ethnic differences largely produced null results, suggesting RCV may not produce bias in who engages with it.

Considerations of American Democracy, Feeling Like a Loser, and Support for Changing the Rules

American Politics Research, Apr 25, 2023

We test how perceptions of feeling like a loser in American politics may condition support for ch... more We test how perceptions of feeling like a loser in American politics may condition support for changes to how elections are conducted. We report a survey experiment that sheds some light on why people may feel like an electoral loser, then use this measure of losing to predict support for a range of proposals to change elections. The experiment prompted people to consider if they were satisfied with how democracy works and to think about the design and structure of American government. Respondents were then asked if they felt like they were on the winning or losing ‘side’ of politics. The prompt was associated with higher rates of respondents reporting they felt like they were on the losing side. Non-experimental estimates of support for a range of proposed changes to elections find a substantial relationship between this form of feeling like a loser, and supporting changing how elections are conducted. This relationship holds with controls for partisanship and other factors. One implication of this is that the more that some Americans are prompted to think about their government and democracy, the more likely they support changing how it works.

Early Presidential Primaries, Viability, and Vote Switching in 2008

Electoral Competition and Political Corruption

Social Science Research Network, Aug 23, 2012

In this project, we examine the effects of electoral competition on political corruption. Specifi... more In this project, we examine the effects of electoral competition on political corruption. Specifically, we propose that electoral competition may facilitate some types of corruption, while mitigating others. We argue pressures of competitive elections may increase incentives for candidates and their supporters to violate laws that regulate the conduct of elections. We will examine if â€œelection crimesâ€? (defined by the DOJ as voter fraud and campaign finance violations) are more likely in competitive electoral settings. To examine this relationship we rely on data culled from the Department of Justice, Federal Elections Commission, and the Census Bureau. Specifically, we use information compiled by the Department of Justiceâ€™s (DOJ) Public Integrity Section regarding federal prosecutions of elected officials, Federal Elections Commission data on electoral competition in the setting where the official broke the law, and census data regarding demographics of the setting. The project will advance extant scholarship by linking data on several years of federal prosecutions to the electoral context of the violation.

Do Campaigns Change Attitudes About People Targeted by Referendums

Social Science Research Network, Feb 22, 2011

ABSTRACT Campaigns have been shown to increase public awareness of issues and candidates. Little ... more ABSTRACT Campaigns have been shown to increase public awareness of issues and candidates. Little is known about how ballot measure campaigns affect attitudes about the subjects of those campaigns. This paper makes use of ANES panel data to assess if attitudes about gays and lesbians changed in response to same-sex marriage referendum campaigns. Preliminary analysis suggests that respondents had lower feeling thermometer ratings of gays and lesbians after exposure to same sex marriage campaigns.

Does Leading in Polls Make Candidates More Appealing? Experimenting with the Microfoundations of Momentum

Social Science Research Network, 2011

Several nations ban the release of pre-election poll results based on the assumption that voters ... more Several nations ban the release of pre-election poll results based on the assumption that voters will be adversely influenced by poll information. The AAPOR notes that there is no scientific evidence that voter decisions are influenced by media polls. This paper uses a list experiment and question wording experiment to assess if voters might be influenced by a candidate’s poll standing when voting. Results are consistent with a theory that proposes that voters with weaker political preferences (the less educated, younger, less politically engaged) may be significantly more likely to support candidates who are leading in media polls. Although the effects are substantial for some sub sets of voters, these voters may be least likely to become aware off media poll information in a real world setting. The effect poll information on candidate choices is minimal for the electorate overall.

Electoral Competition and Public Corruption in the United States

Why is there more public corruption in some places than others? Cross-national and American state... more Why is there more public corruption in some places than others? Cross-national and American state politics research assume that electoral pressures (e.g. greater inter-party competition, turnout) mitigate corruption. Some claim that increased electoral competition should reduce corruption substantially. We propose these assumptions and claims do not fit with public corruption in advanced democracies. We expand on extant studies with recent data on corruption measured at a more refined geographical level. We find that the nearly all variation in corruption can be explained by 1) higher density of social interactions, 2) the presence of unelected public officials, and 3) the presence of people (immigrants) who might be victimized by unelected public officials. Electoral competition at the level of the mass electorate may have a weak association with lower corruption, but existing theory fails to account for how electoral pressures affect unelected officials operating independently of elected officials.

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Review of Piott, Giving Voters a Voice

Pacific Historical Review, Nov 1, 2005

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact

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Competitive Elections, Voter Participation and Electoral Bias

Voters are not blindly cynical about money in politics

Recent years have seen growing concern over the role of money in politics, with many Americans se... more Recent years have seen growing concern over the role of money in politics, with many Americans seemingly believing that campaign money represents quid pro quo corruption. But in new research which uses survey experiments, Todd Donovan finds that people think about campaign money is based on both its source and the amount; Democrats and Republicans see donations to their own party as honest, and to the other, as dishonest. They also found that when money is seen to be spent on negative campaign ads, respondents were more likely to view it as corrupt compared to spending on ads in general.

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