Piner High School STE(A)M Certificate LEVEL 1

-Political science-

Rafael Dang

Presentation Topic: Political science

Presenter: David McCuan

Date: Thursday, Apr 26, 2024

Summary of presentation:

During the most recent STEM Café at Piner High School, David McCuan, Ph.D., a

professor in political science, took part in an interesting discussion about the ins and outs of the

electoral process. This presentation underlined that such offices at the federal and statewide

levels must be understood because they have the potential to influence, the outcome of an

election. Most importantly, it reviewed the scheduled elections of April 23, 2024, in

Pennsylvania and a special election on April 30, 2024, in New York which were 2/8 events, were

picked out as key events. The presentation highlights the strategic importance of some states and

counties in a national election. It is important to note that while eight states carry importance,

only three states decide the outcome of election results, and Nevada's verdict still hangs. Such a

campaign underscores the only the extreme pressure on Arizona and Georgia, among other

states, in the Republican Party. Both have been targets of a vicious election challenge by Trump.

He hinted at the election influence that the various kinds of counties, like Urban Cores, Exurbs,

and Shifting Suburbs, among others, have and noted of the 3,100 counties in the U.S, it's only 8

to 11 that are pivotal in determining the electoral-based on voters' density. An instance of this is

the Urban cores, showing a frequency of voters turning out to be more on the democratic side.
This is in contrast with the Exurbs, which are known for their demographics changing, which

sway the electoral outcome. From the 2024 election horizon, one may want to ask themselves a

few critical questions: the Presidential race, the political parties, the campaign strategies, the

down-ballot races—all seemingly bearing a changed dynamic in U.S. elections. McCuan also

referred to the political digital revolution, quoting its pros, such as faster innovation and more

accessible knowledge for the people. He also warned of the cons, which range from increasing

misinformation to accentuating society's polarization. The discussion went further into insights

on the current political trends, whereby it is noted that there is visible support for Donald Trump

that is above his 2020 election margins, and the former president leads in six of seven

battleground states. That's the growth of GOP influence at a sub-state level, if not necessarily up.

There's been a drop in third-party voters from 2016 that the pollsters are picking up as a

movement back to the major parties. Generally, one of the presentations by McCuan helps to

ascertain good acquaintance with the dynamics shaping the 2024 elections and articulates the

focus, which has to be put, on strategic focuses involving states and even counties, coupled with

the technological stride that impacts political involvement and voter behavior. An example of

this would be big data analytics are helping political campaigns micro-target voters to an

unprecedented level, significantly enhancing campaigning methods—all while potentially

hurting the privacy of individuals and manipulating the electoral process.

Reflection-

Attending the STEM Cafe presentation of David McCuan gave me an interesting

perspective on the complications of the U.S. electoral process. The way McCuan conveyed the

dynamics of electoral influence across states and counties helped make it clear, what often seems

like an overwhelming and convoluted subject matter. One of the most important takeaways for
me was realizing how some states became strategically important and that only a few counties

were changing the national election results. This inside view of electoral geography opened my

eyes and gave me a lot of interest in how data analytics and geographic information systems

could be used to predict future elections and sometimes influence them. I found McCuan's

discussion concerning how the digital revolution affects politics and how it can be two-edged it

enhances the engagement of democracy through the use of technology, yet it does have a

propensity to spread misinformation. A good example is how most of the social media platforms

have turned into political campaign stages, providing avenues for real-time voter engagement but

becoming a conduit at the same time to rapidly spread misinformation. The presentation was

smooth and made some complicated topics easier to understand. But what made the presentation

that special is McCuan's ability to synthesize electoral science with actuality from current events

and historical data to make the bridge between theoretical knowledge and its real ground

application, making the learning experience particularly relevant and applicable right away.

Overall, this presentation gave me a lot of insight and taught me many things about political

science.

Current Article-

With the themes from David McCune's presentation on the 2024 election cycle, go to the section

"2024 Presidential Election Polls" at Race to the WH. The following is a summary view of some

of the most recent polling data for the race's main battlegrounds and dynamic changes in voters'

preferences as the election approaches. This article debated how states like Pennsylvania,
Michigan, and Wisconsin—critical swing states—might play out in the 2024 election outcome,

drawing from the real-time status of the electoral map based on polling averages. In this context,

it looks into the impact contemporary political events may have on electoral behavior, taking into

consideration demographic change; all through the emphasis on the strategic relevance of

understanding the geography of elections and electoral demography. This source is timely for

those interested in learning how the present trends impact the upcoming presidential elections

and are relevant to the themes of election science that were covered at STEM Café.

Article: https://www.racetothewh.com/president/polls