Hamm

"Many American voters are beginning to wonder if the 2004 presidential election will be clean and fair, or if it will turn out to look more like the electoral processes held in Latin American, Asian, Africa, and other countries run by authoritarian governments," says ISU political scientist Patricia Hamm. "Will their vote be counted? Will the electoral outcome be manipulated? Are voters being intimidated to vote in a certain way? Will the "dead" turn out to vote and the "living" be prevented from voting? Most importantly, they are asking themselves what can they do to ensure that the 2004 electoral campaign and election be viewed in retrospective as an example of democratic practices."

Baum

"Republican strategists were able to convince religious conservatives to vote against their economic self interests and against a foreign policy that stressed diplomacy over military action in order to advance a set of moral issues about homosexual marriage and abortion that fulfilled their religious convictions," says ISU associate professor of philosophy and religious studies Robert Baum. "This will remain a serious obstacle for Democrats in the future, unless they can stress the central role of religion on issues of social justice and peace."

Dimitrova

"This presidential election will have long-term effects not only in the United States, but also around the world," says ISU journalism professor Daniela Dimitrova. "Politicians and regular citizens in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa followed closely the American presidential race. In his second term in office, President Bush will need to reevaluate some of his foreign policy decisions and consider having closer collaboration with his colleagues overseas. Otherwise, divisions between the U.S. and other countries, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, will continue to grow."

ISU political experts on election year issues.

Schmidt

"It now appears that perhaps nothing was more instrumental in the defeat of Kerry than the 11 constitutional amendments against gay marriage, all of which passed by overwhelming majorities, because in several states these amendments brought socially conservative voters to the polls in huge numbers. When they voted, they also voted for Bush," says ISU political scientist Steffen Schmidt. "This probably helped push Bush's national popular vote percentage over 50 percent."

ISU political experts on election year issues.

McCormick

"States like Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio are crucial to the selection of the next president," says ISU political scientist James McCormick. "As the Midwest goes, so goes the presidency."

ISU political experts on election year issues.

Lowry

"Given the difficulties of polling in the age of cell phones and the numbers of new voters that both parties claim to have registered, it's extremely difficult to predict the popular vote for president," says ISU political scientist Robert Lowry. "If the polls indicate a strong last-minute trend in battleground states, that will probably be an indicator of the outcome, but otherwise, we will just have to wait and see."

ISU political experts on election year issues.

Conger

"Voter registration is breaking records in almost every state," says ISU political scientist Kimberly Conger. "Since about 85 percent of people who are registered actually vote in national elections, we could see record voter turnout, as well. High turnout usually favors Democrats, but as we saw in 2000, in what state those Democrats vote could have the biggest impact of all."

ISU political experts on election year issues.

Dearin

"Since Richard Nixon in 1960, it has been customary for nomination accepters in both parties to include in their speeches 'personal vision statements' of the American dream," says ISU political scientist Ray Dearin. "Republicans have stressed the pioneer, individual liberty, and 'opportunity society'; Democrats have leaned toward the immigrant, 'huddled masses,' and communitarian version. Expect this trend to continue in New York."

ISU political experts on election year issues.

Bystrom

"The Bush/Cheney campaign is doing more than it did four years ago to try to win the women's vote," says ISU political scientist Dianne Bystrom. "This includes a greater reliance on the president's wife to campaign. For example, she is featured in an ad on the Bush campaign's Web site devoted to women, talking about the administration's record on education."

ISU political experts on election year issues.