Behind the Ballot
Mark your calendars for “Behind the Ballot: Examining the Influences and Trends Driving Modern Elections,” a two-day presidential symposium scheduled for Oct. 29-30 on LSU’s campus.
This symposium is free and open to the public, and will engage faculty, students, community leaders and elected officials in deep discussions on everything from issues motivating Louisiana voters to exploring aspects of creative elements in campaign art to dissecting the evolving role of media in today’s political world.
Events will run from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. Highlights include a Secretary of State Candidates’ Forum at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29, held in the Holliday Forum of the Journalism Building, with overflow seating at the Lawton Room in Tiger Stadium. During the event, free parking will be available at the LSU Bookstore in the in the Union Square Parking Garage.
Louisiana Secretary of State Candidate Forum
Candidates for Louisiana Secretary for State will respond to panelist questions. Participating candidates include:
- Kyle Ardoin (R), Acting Secretary of State
- Heather Cloud, (R), Mayor, Turkey Creek
- Gwen Collins-Greenup (D), Notary public and recent law school graduate
- Rep. A.G. Crowe (R), Former member of Louisiana State Senate
- Rick Edmonds (R), State Representative, District 66
- Renee Fontenot Free (D), Director of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Public Protection Division
- Matthew Paul Moreau (No Party), Owner, Medical equipment business
- Julie Stokes (R), State Representative, District 69
Where: Holliday Forum, Journalism Building, reception to follow
Politics (and everything in between) through the eyes of cartoonist Walt Handelsman
When: Tuesday, Oct. 30, 6 p.m.
Where: LSU Student Union Theater
Publishing Anonymous: Opinion Journalism in a Polarized Age
Where: LSU Student Union Theater, reception to follow
Political Cartoon Contest
Submit your best political cartoon to be judged by Walt Handelsman, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist at the The Advocate. There are no rules and no restrictions – be as creative as you like. Upload your work by Oct. 26 – winners will be announced during Mr. Handelsman’s presentation at 6 p.m. on Oct. 30.
Schedule of Events
Additional panelists are still being added. Check back for updates!
| Time | Forum Title | Location | Panelists | Speakers | Moderator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. |
The Long and Winding Road: History of Voting Rights |
French House, Grand Salon |
Nancy Isenberg, T. Harry Williams Professor of American History Raymond T. Diamond, Jules F. and Frances L. Landry Distinguished Professor of Law and James Carville Alumni Professor of Law Albert Samuels , Chair of Political Science Department, Southern University Catherine Jacquet, Assistant Professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies Jonathan Earle, Dean, LSU Honors College |
Jerry Ceppos, William B. Dickinson Distinguished Professor of Mass Communication |
| 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. |
Campaigns by Design: A Look at the Creative Elements that Influence Voter Behavior |
Design Building Atrium |
Bob Mann, LSU Professor of Mass Communication Lynne Baggett, LSU Professor of Graphic Design Andrew Kuo, Associate Professor of Marketing, John C. Hamilton Family Developing Scholar & V. Price LeBlanc Professor |
Rod Parker, Director, School of Art |
| 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Ballots on the Brain: The Psychology Behind Voting | Student Union, Castilian Room |
Jas Sullivan, LSU Professor of Political Science, Psychology and African-American Studies Nathan Kalmoe, Assistant Professor, Mass Communication and Political Science |
Jenee Slocum, Director, Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs |
| 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Who Run the World? The Rising Influence of Women in Politics | Student Union, Vieux Carre Room |
Nichole Bauer, Assistant Professor, Political Communication Patricia Haynes Smith, Louisiana State Representative-District 67 Rachel Campbell, LSU Student Government Vice President Paula Davis, Louisiana State Representative-District 69 |
Stacia Haynie, Interim LSU Executive Vice President & Provost |
| 12:30 - 2 p.m. |
Lagniappe Luncheon: Issues Influencing the Louisiana Voter |
Student Union, Magnolia Room |
Michael Pasquier, LSU Jaak Seynaeve Professor of Christian Studies, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and History Sam Bentley, LSU Professor of Geology Ed Shihadeh, LSU Professor of Sociology Matt Fannin, Associate Director of Analytic and Academic Programs | Rural Policy Research Institute Kim Hunter Reed, Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Troy Blanchard, Interim Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences |
F. King Alexander, LSU President |
| 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. | From Russia With Love: International Influences on American Elections | Student Union, Vieux Carre |
Peter Siska, LSU-Shreveport Dean of Arts and Sciences Len Apcar, Wendell Gray Switzer Jr. Endowed Chair in Media Literacy Revathi Hines, Alphonse Jackson Endowed Professor of Political Science, Nelson Mandela College of Government and Social Sciences, Southern University |
|
| 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. | Hashtag WHAT!? : Social Media and Campaign Advertising | Student Union, Castilian Room |
Lance Porter, F. Walker Lockett, Jr. Distinguished Professor and the Director of the Social Media Analysis and Creation Lab Jeremy Alford, publisher and editor of LaPolitics Weekly Trey Ourso, Senior Political Strategist, Ourso Beychok, Inc. |
|
| 4 - 5 p.m. | The Minority Majority: The Political Power of Underrepresented Groups | Student Union, Vieux Carre |
Lori Latrice Martin, LSU Professor of Sociology, African and African American Studies Raymond Jetson, MetroMorphosis President and CEO Stewart Lockett, LSU SG President Robert Lancaster, The Judge Earl E. Veron Endowed Professor and The J. Nolan and Janice D. Singletary Professor of Professional Practice at LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center" |
Dereck Rovaris, Vice Provost for Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer at Louisiana State University |
| 4 - 5 p.m. | Divining Districts: Polling and Forecasting | Student Union, Castilian Room |
Michael Henderson, Director of LSU's Public Policy Research Lab Kathleen Searles, LSU Assistant Professor of Political Communication Joshua Darr, LSU Assistant Professor of Mass Communication |
|
| 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. | Does Voting Even Matter? A Friendly Debate | Lawton Room, Tiger Stadium |
James Stoner, Hermann Moyse, Jr., Professor and Director of the Eric Voegelin Institute in the Department of Political Science Belinda Davis, LSU Associate Professor of Political Science |
Jonathan Earle, Dean, LSU Honors College |
| 7 - 8:30 p.m. | Louisiana Secretary of State Candidate Forum | Holliday Forum, Journalism Building |
Participating candidates include:
Questioning panelists will include:
|
Laryssa Bonacquisti, senior journalism student, LSU Manship School of Mass Communication |
| 8:30 - 10 p.m. | Reception | Journalism Building Veranda |
| Time | Forum Title | Location | Panelists | Speakers | Moderator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30 - 11 a.m. |
My Vote, My Voice: Identity and Intersectionality in Modern Elections
|
French House, Grand Salon |
Chris Tyson, President & CEO, East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority Kathleen Searles, LSU Assistant Professor of Political Communication Chris Barrett, LSU Assistant Professor of English |
Summer Steib, Director of LSU's Women's Center |
| 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Geaux Vote Luncheon: Building the Next Generation of Voters | Student Union, Magnolia Room |
Zoe Williamson, President, Geaux Vote Clarissa Unger, Young Invincibles Monturios Howard, student activist David Goodman, President, The Andrew Goodman Foundation Louis Gremillion, Hidden Heroes Award Recipient and LSU Graduate Student |
Lily Fontenot, Tiger TV |
| 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. | Polar Caps and Partisanship: Advocating Science in an Era of Polarization | Dalton J. Woods Auditorium, Energy, Coast, & Environment Building |
Peter Doran, LSU Professor and John Franks Endowed Chair of Geology Prosanta Chakrabarty, LSU Associate Professor Curator of Ichthyology Becky Carmichael, Coordinator Communication Across the Curriculum (CxC) Sophie Warny, AASP Professor in the Center for Excellence in Palynology Chris D'Elia, Dean, LSU College of the Coast & Environment Philip Bart, LSU Associate Professor, Geology |
Ashley Arceneaux, Director of Presidential & Policy Communications |
| 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. | Missing Tapes and Deleted Tweets: the Presidential Records Act & Democracy | Hill Memorial Library |
Edward Benoit III, LSU Assistant Professor & Russell B. Long Professor of Library & Information Science Zachary Tompkins, Louisiana State Archives |
|
| 3 - 4 p.m. | Nike, Pantsuits, and MAGA Hats: Elections and Pop Culture | Student Union, Castilian Room |
Kenneth Wesley, LSU Instructor of Digital Media Arts and Engineering Casey Stannard, Assistant Professor of Apparel Design John Fletcher, LSU Billy J. Harbin Associate Professor of Theatre History Bryan McCann, LSU Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Cultural Studies |
|
| 3 - 4 p.m. | Protecting the Polls: Cybersecurity and Election Integrity | Patrick F. Taylor, Greg Elliot Suite, 3107 |
Larissa Millet, Information Systems Security Engineer for LSU's Stephenson Technologies Corporation Sweta Ghimire, LSU Computer Science Senior and DEFCON Voting Village Participant |
Greg Trahan, |
| 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. | Watchdogs or Attack Dogs: Media's Role in Today's Elections | Business Ed Complex Auditorium |
Peter Kovacs, The Advocate Amy Brittain, The Washington Post Quint Forgey, Politico Martin Johnson, Dean, LSU Manship School of Mass Communication Melinda Deslatte, Associated Press |
Jim Engster, President of the Louisiana Radio Network |
| 6 - 7 p.m. | Politics (and everything in between) through the eyes of cartoonist Walt Handelsman | LSU Student Union Theater | Walt Handelsman | |
| 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Publishing Anonymous: Opinion Journalism in a Polarized Age | LSU Student Union Theatre | Jim Dao, New York Times Op-Ed Editor, with commentary and conversation from Len Apcar, LSU’s Wendell Gray Switzer Jr. Endowed Chair in Media Literacy | |
| 8:30 - 10 p.m. | Geaux Vote Reception | LSU Student Union |
Questions?
Contact Ashley Arceneaux at ash@lsu.edu or 225-578-0971.