Philip Klinkner, The James S. Sherman Professor of Government, was recently quoted in the Florida Times-Union. In the article, "Officials Hope Blacks Show for Primary," Klinkner said, "The thing about spoiled ballots is, you don't know if it was yours, and I bet most people felt that their vote was counted." He added, "People show up to vote when they feel a candidate can improve their lives, or when a challenger poses a perceived danger."
In 2001, Klinkner conducted a study and found that ballot design and race were the crucial factors accounting for spoiled ballots in the Florida 2000 election. Klinkner is an expert on American politics, including parties and elections, race relations, Congress, and the Presidency. He has written extensively on a variety of topics related to American politics. Most recently, Klinkner is the co-author of The Unsteady March: The Rise and Decline of America's Commitment to Racial Equality (University of Chicago Press, 1999), which examines changes in race relations in American politics and history. The book received the 2000 Horace Mann Bond Book Award from Harvard University's Afro-American Studies Department and W.E.B DuBois Institute.
