Atiya Stokes-Brown

"As someone who studies politics, I can understand why someone would talk about the women's vote or the Latino vote, but I think most political scientists will tell you that is just a myth."

Assistant professor of political science

Political pundits often refer to the "black vote," the "Latino vote" and the "women's vote." But what exactly do we know about the individuals that make up these groups and how they respond to politics?

Atiya Stokes-Brown, an assistant professor of political science, studies disenfranchised groups and their relationship to politics. Her recent work has focused on women and Latino voters.

One study challenges the idea that female voters get excited about female candidates. Stokes-Brown found that women were more likely to discuss politics and try to persuade someone else to vote when women candidates campaigned on women's issues – not just because the candidate was a woman.

"Yes, women get excited when women run, but it's about what women are talking about," said Stokes-Brown, who is also starting to look at the role that race and political party play in the relationship between female candidates and women voters.

The Latino community provides another interesting perspective for Stokes-Brown as a group that includes both racial and ethnic diversity. Perhaps not surprisingly, both factors affect how individuals vote.

Even though her research is revealing some trends regarding what resonates with women, Latinos, and other groups, she also sees these categories as over-simplifications.

"As someone who studies politics, I can understand why someone would talk about the women's vote or the Latino vote, but I think most political scientists will tell you that is just a myth," she said. "There is enough diversity within those populations to question whether one particular tactic or one particular stance is going capture the women's vote or the Latino vote."

Posted Sept. 22, 2008