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Over the past decade, there has been much talk in the media about 'red' and 'blue' states; states that are electorally uncompetitive in presidential elections. Even with recent efforts to create national standards for voting machinery and personnel, states still have variations in their voting patterns. This paper seeks to determine what role this electoral competitiveness or uncompetitiveness, as the case may be, plays in making a state's voters choose to vote absentee. Using state by state election data from the 2000, 2004. amd 2008 presidential elections, this paper seeks to determine what role electoral competition, the relative strengths of the two major parties in each of the fifty states, and the states' political culture contribute in the variation in states' numbers of absentee voters. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While only receiving one year's worth of formal education, Abraham Lincoln's passion for learning is often cited by historians and biographers as one of the key elements of his character. Among the most influential thinkers in Lincoln's life was Sir William Blackstone, whose Commentaries, especially his first book on the rights of persons, helped shape his legal and political thinking as it did for many Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries. This work aims to highlight, through his political actions and speeches, how Blackstone's ideas which sought to explain and clarify English common law influenced our nation's 16th president. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work seeks to examine the intersection between agriculture and immigration policies through the perspective of legislative cross-cutting pressures as articulated by Cox & McCubbins (1993 & 2005) and Wink, et al. (1996). Looking at the roll call votes taken by Members of Congress (MCs) on HR 4437, The Immigration, Border Security, and Nationality Act of 2005 which impacted both agricultural and immigration policy in the form of the H-2A Visa Program, involving guest farm workers, this work highlights the multiple pressures faced by many MCs within their congressional districts. However, an analysis of these votes suggests that cross-cutting pressures imposed on many MCs usually concerned about farm policy gave way to concerns about illegal immigration, leading to many to vote for in favor of HR 4437, in spite of the difficulties this proposed legislation was going to have for their farm interests. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent election cycles have seen more women entering and winning races for Congress, but gender-based cues voters used to ascertain their policy stances have become less useful. This work aims to see if alternative cues offer more reliable results. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]