Speakers<\/b><\/h3>\n
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- Sherry Bebitch Jeffe<\/b>, Retired Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Communication, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California. She was the political analyst for NBC4 Los Angeles and is one-half of the podcast \u201cInside Golden State Politics.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Bill Schneider<\/b>, Professor Emeritus, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. He was CNN\u2019s Senior Political Analyst from 1990 to 2009. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, Boston College, and Brandeis University.<\/li>\n
- Jonathan Diaz<\/b>, Director of Voting Advocacy and Partnerships, Campaign Legal Center.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nPolitical Conventions<\/b><\/h3>\n
Conventions have evolved significantly over the years. Conventions \u201caren\u2019t what they used to be \u2014 that\u2019s for sure,\u201d said Sherry Jeffe. \u201cConventions used to be how delegates chose the presidential and vice presidential nominees \u2026 Today, they\u2019re more about campaigning for a choice that\u2019s already been made through the primaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffe anticipates that the Democratic convention will gain significant momentum, especially with the expectation of Biden\u2019s departure. She predicted the convention would \u201chave the muscle it hasn\u2019t had for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kamala Harris, currently serving as the vice president and noted for being the first Black and South Asian woman in the role, stands to become the nation’s first female president if she wins the upcoming election. She has garnered the support of a majority of Democratic delegates, and recently, former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have formally endorsed her campaign.<\/p>\n
Despite these developments, Jeffe highlighted the increasing role of social media in political conventions. \u201cI could argue that this is the first convention in the social media era, and that has everybody as a \u2018delegate,\u2019\u201d she noted. She elaborated, \u201cEven with Obama, social media was mainly a fundraising tool \u2026 Now, social media is shaping the debate. Every campaign now has a director of social media, and Donald Trump even has his own social media platform,\u201d Truth Social.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Diaz emphasized the acceleration of this shift due to the pandemic. \u201cThat shift really accelerated with the pandemic limiting the in-person campaigning ability of both parties,\u201d he said. Diaz further explained that since 2020, the nomination, campaign, and convention processes have predominantly moved online, resulting in \u201cmore disinformation circulating through social media than ever \u2026 lowering confidence in the electoral system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recent data from the Pew Research Center indicates that as of April 2024, only 22% of Americans trust the federal government \u201cjust about always\u201d or \u201cmost of the time.\u201d This reflects a near-historic low, consistent with a June 2024 Partnership for Public Service poll, which found that merely 23% of Americans trust the government at all.<\/p>\n
Bill Schneider pointed out the current nature of conventions, describing them as \u201cpublic relations events.\u201d He stated, \u201cThe process of screening the candidates\u2019 moral, medical, legal or financial records, formerly done by party bosses, is now done by the press to inform ordinary voters choosing a nominee\u201d prior to the convention, during the primaries.<\/p>\n
Schneider also noted the significant influence Donald Trump has within the Republican Party, which was evident during the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. \u201cThe 2024 Republican National Convention, held in Milwaukee the week of Monday, July 15, \u2018proved that Donald Trump has taken complete possession of the Republican Party. There is no opposition anymore,\u2019\u201d he added. Schneider observed that the party\u2019s base has shifted from the affluent \u201ccountry club\u201d league to the white working class, likening it to the ideology of Archie Bunker.<\/p>\n
The Elections<\/b><\/h3>\n
Schneider continued to discuss Trump\u2019s impact on Republican policies. \u201cThe conservatism of Reagan and both Bushes has been repudiated. The Republican Party had been internationalist since 1949, when it voted to join NATO. It\u2019s now an isolationist party. It doesn\u2019t talk about national debt anymore \u2026 Now, it\u2019s a populist party \u2014 not just economically, but social populism \u2026 He intends to deport a million illegal immigrants in his first year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Republican voter base has been shifting culturally, according to Schneider. \u201cWhite voters without a college degree have been becoming more Republican for about 20 years, the reason has less to do with economics than it does with cultural issues,\u201d he said. \u201cThey resent the power of the educated elite who run the Democratic Party. We call it the \u2018diploma divide.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Electoral College remains a point of contention, primarily supported by Republicans. Schneider explained, \u201cThe electoral college itself \u2018now has principally Republican supporters because without it, Trump would never have become president. He lost the popular vote.\u2019\u201d He added, \u201cBut nothing is likely to change in the electoral rules \u2026 because to change the Electoral College, you have to change the Constitution, which involves not just Congress, but state legislatures, which are now dominated by Republicans and are likely to be more dominated by Republicans.\u201d<\/p>\n
New allegations of voter fraud by Trump and his allies echo the 2020 election, where over 60 cases nationwide failed to prove fraud. Despite this, 19 states passed 34 laws in 2021 restricting voting access.<\/p>\n
This month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act, which mandates documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration. Although citizenship is already a requirement to vote, the new legislation introduces costly administrative changes that could take months or years to implement.<\/p>\n
Trump has expressed his conditional acceptance of the 2024 election results, stating he\u2019ll only accept them \u201cif everything\u2019s honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diaz cautioned about the influence of repeated fraud claims. \u201cIf you say enough times that there\u2019s all this fraud, no matter how little evidence you have, some people will start to believe it,\u201d he said. Diaz warned that if the election results are close, or if Trump loses, he might exploit this uncertainty to challenge the results, similar to his actions in 2020, but now with a more sympathetic federal judiciary and Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The current Supreme Court consists of a supermajority of six Republican-appointed judges against three Democratic appointees, with three of the Republican judges appointed by Trump, two by George H. W. Bush, and one by George W. Bush.<\/p>\n
Diaz remains hopeful about the future of American democracy. \u201cWhat gives me hope is that the concern among regular people over the health of our democracy has only increased,\u201d he said. Reflecting on his earlier priorities as a lawyer, Diaz noted that election reforms and voting rights now rank highly among voter concerns, as evidenced by recent polls.<\/p>\n
A March 2024 Georgetown survey, conducted by both Republican and Democrat pollsters, revealed that 81% of respondents believed American democracy is\/was being threatened, with 72% agreeing strongly.<\/p>\n
Diaz concluded with a call to action: \u201cDemocracy only works if everyone plays their part to not just preserve but advance it,\u201d he said. He finds hope in the engagement of regular voters who are deeply concerned about the direction of the country and the state of democracy, reinforcing his belief that the fight for democracy is far from over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With presidential elections approaching amid political violence and division, how will national conventions and the electoral process impact and be impacted by voters? In a media briefing on July 19, hosted by Ethnic Media Services, a panel of experts sought to make sense of the unique circumstances in which the 2024 Elections are being held…<\/p>\n
- Bill Schneider<\/b>, Professor Emeritus, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. He was CNN\u2019s Senior Political Analyst from 1990 to 2009. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, Boston College, and Brandeis University.<\/li>\n