Voting Behavior: The 2020 Election

by Peter L. Francia and Jonathan S. Morris

Looking for earlier elections?

About the Project

Voting Behavior: The 2020 Election is a new SETUPS (Supplementary Empirical Teaching Units in Political Science) that offers students the ability to analyze an accessible dataset drawn from the 2020 American National Election Study (ANES) survey of the American electorate. Peter L. Francia and Jonathan S. Morris of the Center for Survey Research at East Carolina University developed this new SETUPS module to provide students the opportunity to analyze data from the most recent presidential election. This instructional module is part of an extensive line of voting behavior SETUPS, which began with the 1972 election. For 48 years, the American Political Science Association (APSA) and ICPSR have collaborated to develop and distribute the SETUPS. The 2020 SETUPS module continues the fully online model begun in 2004.

The authors are grateful to ICPSR for its support of this project. Lynette Hoelter provided overall administrative leadership of this project. The authors also thank Charles Prysby and Carmine Scavo for their previous and invaluable years of service to SETUPS.

About the Authors

Peter L. Francia is a professor of political science and director of the Center for Survey Research at East Carolina University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 2000. He is the author or coauthor of several publications on elections, voting behavior, interest groups, and campaign finance. His most recent book is Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions, 4th ed. (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020), coauthored with Jody C. Baumgartner.

Jonathan S. Morris is a professor of political science and senior polling scientist for the Center for Survey Research at East Carolina University. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2002. He is the author or coauthor of several publications on media and politics, including political humor, cable news, and political communication on social media. His most recent book is Politics is a Joke! How TV Comedians are Remaking Political Life (Westview Press, 2015), coauthored with S. Robert Lichter and Jody C. Baumgartner.

Contact Us

For questions about SETUPS content, please contact:

Peter L. Francia
franciap@ecu.edu

Jonathan S. Morris
morrisj@ecu.edu

For questions about the website or technical issues with the online analysis system, please contact icpsr-help@umich.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How do I obtain the raw dataset?

    The analysis exercises were built from a subset of the 2020 American National Election Study (ANES). That subset is available for download from the ICPSR website.

  2. I'm having a problem with the analysis exercises. Where can I get help?

    The Contact Us section above provides the email addresses of the individuals involved in the creation of this site.

  3. How do I cite this project/site?

    Francia, Peter L. and Jonathan S. Morris, American Political Science Association, and Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. SETUPS: Voting Behavior: The 2020 Election. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021.