Votes That Count and Voters Who Don't

Votes That Count and Voters Who Don't examines the impact of premature election calling by journalists during U.S. presidential elections. This volume 1 study by Sharon E. Jarvis and Soo-Hye Han analyzes how media portrayals of voters have shifted over the last eighteen presidential cycles. The authors investigate the transition of voters from vital partisan actors to perceived pawns of political elites within a flawed system.

Drawing on communication studies and political science, the text uses experiments, focus groups, and interviews to reveal how these narratives affect voter participation. This work of journalism and media studies explores the intersection of civics, citizenship, and the political process. Votes That Count and Voters Who Don't advocates for a reporting style that supports democratic values and restores the importance of the individual voter in the news.