Abstract
With the 2020 election marking the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, our attention has been keenly focused on women voters. Media coverage of women voters portrayed them as swing voters and focused on a small subgroup of women (white, married, mothers). I argue that women’s and men’s voting behavior in 2020 was highly similar to past elections and does not support the claims that women or a subgroup of women are swing voters. I illustrate the diversity of women’s voting behavior through analyzing the intersection of gender with race, ethnicity, education, marital status, and parental status. Even though women were not swing voters, women still play an important role in electoral politics, representing the majority of members in both the Democratic and Republican Parties and holding stronger attachments to these parties than men.
About the author
Heather L. Ondercin is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Appalachian State University. She researches how gender shapes political behavior over time in the United States. Her work has been published in outlets including Political Research Quarterly, Political Behavior, and Electoral Studies. She is working on a book project titled Politicized Identities and the Partisan Gender Gap.
Acknowledgment
Special thanks to Ciera Dalton for helping compile the data. Additionally, thanks to Erin Cassese and Jeff Carter for providing comments on drafts.
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