Please join the Department of Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies for a two-day symposium, The New American Electorate Beyond the Voting Booth: Building an Inclusive Democracy Thursday, Nov. 30 and Friday, Dec. 1 on the Ohio State campus. Discussions and panels will focus on underrepresented groups (such as new immigrants, women, men of color, and millennials) that make up the new American electorate and how to mobilize individuals in these groups beyond simply encouraging them to vote.
The opening keynote discussion will feature a university-wide, public forum featuring a highly interactive discussion with Ari Berman, senior reporter for Mother Jones and author of Give Us the Ballot, The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America; Anna Sampaio, chair of Ethnic Studies Santa Clara University and author of Terrorizing Latina/o Immigrants: Race, Gender, and Immigration Politics in the Age of Security; Dan Tokaji, Professor of Constitutional Law at Moritz College of Law which will be moderated by Wendy Smooth, Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies. A book signing will follow the discussion. The speakers will discuss the unique features of the new American electorate including tracing the historical developments which paved the way for these voters to play such pivotal roles in recent presidential elections. As well, the panelists will discuss recent attempts to curtail the expanding electorate including the rise in voter identification laws; enacting limitations on early voting; and other restrictive voting measures which many argue are designed to thwart this substantial growth in voter power. The speakers will also reflect on the impact of the significantly curtailed Voting Rights Act of 1965 and how these structural changes are impacting voter access and what protections are needed to ensure the expanding electorate's political voice.
The event is free and open to the public, but Day 2 requires registration. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for the full-day symposium on Friday, Dec. 1. For more details and registration, along with a list of our sponsors, visit go.osu.edu/2017NewAmericanElectorate If you have questions, feel free to email symposium organizer, Wendy Smooth at smooth.1@osu.edu or call at (614) 292-1021.
