October 2023 Presentation Recap
Professor Catherine Heldman
On Saturday, October 14, at the Pasadena Senior Center, a full room of League members and guests heard an informative and thought-provoking talk from Professor Caroline Heldman of Occidental College. Professor Heldman, an expert on voting and elections, shared her insights into voters’ behavior and motivations, often with a light touch that had us laughing. Striking graphics illustrated her presentation on the LWV-PA home page.
Professor Heldman gave us a picture of the current election landscape and what voters’ preferences, as expressed through a wide variety and number of polls, foretell for 2024. Specifically, she showed how the potential presidential candidates from both parties (plus one third party/independent candidate, Cornel West) appeal to various segments of the population, along with the sobering consensus that the average voter is not very enthusiastic about any of them.
Issues ranked by voter concern from a broad-based poll of all voters rated the economy number one, followed closely by health care, with immigration at some distance below them. Interestingly, foreign policy and election integrity/voting fraud, which get a lot of attention and commentary from politicians, were ranked lowest in importance by voters. Professor Heldman also analyzed the changes in political party preferences of voters in the “swing states” over the past few years, and the potential impact on the 2024 election.
During an exceptionally well-informed and lively question-and-answer session, we were privileged to hear from the president of the Nevada League of Women Voters, who attended as our guest, on the major issue of voter suppression in that critical swing state. Other audience questions raised the following concerns:
- With “the economy” as a top issue, is income inequality important in voters’ minds? The answer was yes, and Professor Heldman pointed to the high level of popular support for unions and current strike campaigns.
- Can the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact overcome the distortions in election outcomes due to the Electoral College, since a constitutional amendment is so difficult to accomplish? Our speaker said “possible but unlikely” and pointed out that without the Electoral College, political campaigns would focus all their resources and funding on the high-population areas and ignore most of the rest of the country.
- Given the age of both leading presidential candidates, what will happen if one or both of them dies before the election? Professor Heldman offered a number of alternative slates of candidates and pointed out that misogyny and racism will play a role.
We ended the program with high appreciation for this outstanding presentation. We all went away with much to consider and discuss as we approach the coming presidential election year. Hopefully we will hear from Professor Heldman again.
—Katherine Gavzy
