Data-Driven Campaigns and Elections

3 Credits.

Analytics inform the decision-making process, strategizing, and forecasting of modern American campaigns. This course focuses on the role that analytics play in campaigns and elections in America. Campaign strategists, policy analysts, and social scientists leverage data from voter rolls, consumption and public opinion polls to make better choices. This course surveys the theoretical and empirical literature in American electoral politics to examine how campaigns and political organizations are using ?eld experiments, microtargeting, and public opinion polling to tackle the challenges of getting out the vote and increasing registration and voting rates. Other topics covered include voting behavior, public opinion, partisanship, and campaign ?nance. Students will gain a rich understanding of how analytics has become a key component of the electoral process. Students will also gain experience analyzing data through simulations and data analysis exercises. Prerequisites: 470.667, Machine Learning Methods and Applications OR 470.709, Quantitative Methods for Policy and Political Analysis OR 470.854, Fundamentals of Quantitative Methods ( AS.470.667 or AS.470.709 may be taken concurrently).