Joshua Ferrer

@AmericanU Assistant Professor in Government, @UCLA PhD, @FulbrightPrgrm scholar

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

My latest report on 2026 primary turnout is live from @BPC_Bipartisan! We're on track for the highest primary voter turnout in at least 16 years--though that still means only 1 in 5 eligible voters are participating https://t.co/UGs7J2lYsL

[Michael Thorning @ThorningMichael]

🧵NEW 2026 midterm primary turnout data through July 21 out today from @BPC_Bipartisan & @Jferrer505:
-state-by-state turnout back to 2010 🇺🇸
-national and two-party turnout 📈📉
-top-5 highest & lowest turnout states

https://t.co/SbY3NJiqWQ

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

@yujin_evelyn @BPC_Bipartisan @danmthomp @RachelOrey @AJPS_Editor It's really hard to pin that bit down. We think a lot of it is selection into the job and institutional design. But we can't rule out the possibility that informal practices are keeping the system stable and that changes to those could have adverse effects

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

My latest research at the @BPC_Bipartisan with @danmthomp, @RachelOrey. Election officials across the country have been turning over at much higher rates in the past few years. This is a combo of a long-term trend of increasing turnover rates, and recent out-of trend surge.

[Bipartisan Policy Center @BPC_Bipartisan]

NEW: Turnover among chief local election officials continued to climb following the presidential election, reaching 41% in 2024—up from 39% in 2022.

🧵New analysis by @RachelOrey, @Jferrer505, and @danmthomp explores how turnover trends evolved through 2024.

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

@yujin_evelyn @BPC_Bipartisan @danmthomp @RachelOrey Our research suggests that election administration is resilient in the face of turnover, forthcoming at @AJPS_Editor : https://t.co/7aLzArSfjp

[School of Public Affairs @AU_SPA]

#SPAintheMedia Turnover among local election officials hit record highs in 2024: 41% were new to the political scene, the most in 25+ years, raising challenges for election administration. Read more from SPA's Asst. Prof. Joshua Ferrer's study here https://t.co/rHblCOJRuO, here: https://t.co/yTjAsIeqUA, and here: https://t.co/gJoj7zWvrY. @Jferrer505

[QJPS Editors @qjps_editors]

From the latest issue of the QJPS, “To Elect or Appoint? Evidence from Local Election Administration” by @Jferrer505. A thread.

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

New blog post with @BPC_Bipartisan looking into the high election workloads and the potential benefits of election consolidation. Election officals admister over 2 elections a year on average, and some manage many more!
https://t.co/qa4GZakWKm

[British Jnl Poli Sci @BJPolS]

NEW -

The Global Legislators Database: Characteristics of National Legislators in the World’s Democracies - https://t.co/HF4grjcYql

- Nicholas Carnes, @Jferrer505, @mgoldenProf, @EsmeLillywhite, @NoamLupu & Eugenia Nazrullaeva

#OpenAccess

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

@sysilviakim My article just went live for the jrep special issue...https://t.co/4OMDAQxpSS

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

Super excited to share that I'll be joining American University as an Assistant Professor in Government this Fall! A huge thanks to everyone at @polisciucla for helping me through my PhD, especially to @danmthomp for being the best mentor and colleague one could possibly ask for

[Cambridge University Press - Politics @CUP_PoliSci]

#OpenAccess from @PSRMjournal -

Beyond the Trump Presidency: The Racial Underpinnings of White Americans’ Anti-Democratic Beliefs - https://t.co/iTZFWzShQP

- @Jferrer505 & Christopher Palmisano (both @UCLA)

#FirstView

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

I gave a radio interview to ABC Australia about my forthcoming co-authored @BJPolS article on the Global Legislator Dataset, studying the characteristics of MPs around the world https://t.co/a3o3tzW4Fi

[Michael Thorning @ThorningMichael]

🧵NEW @BPC_Bipartisan: @Jferrer505, @JDRackey and I examine the impact of primary formats on turnout &demographic makeup of the electorate. We find:

-More open primary types boost turnout.
-More open primary types lead to more representative electorates. https://t.co/PB93GnLQu9

[American Political Science Review @apsrjournal]

Do locally elected administrative clerks use their position to advantage their own parties in elections? Using a novel dataset @Jferrer505, @GeynIgor, & @danmthomp find that clerks oversee similar election results, turnout, & policies.
#APSRNewIssue
https://t.co/tRQoXNGYft

[Joshua Ferrer @Jferrer505]

Excited to share the release of my new report joint with @BPC_Bipartisan, @danmthomp, and @RachelOrey!
We examine turnover among election officials since 2000 and outline recommendations to remedy the chronic and emerging roots of turnover.
https://t.co/P4dVO9VAee

[American Political Science Review @apsrjournal]

Do locally elected administrative clerks use their position to advantage their own parties in elections? Using a novel dataset @Jferrer505, @GeynIgor, & @danmthomp find that clerks oversee similar election results, turnout, & policies.
#APSRFirstView
https://t.co/D3bZylTtNw

[Representation @RepJournal]

Partisanship in electoral system reform is well-understood, but @joshuaferr argues that the factors affecting partisan manipulation of other democratic ‘rules of the game’ has received little attention.

@Jferrer505
@FulbrightNZ
@polisciucla
@otago

https://t.co/tqbjLcinaC

[Michael Thorning @ThorningMichael]

ICYMI: @Redistrict cites @Jferrer505 and my recent report for @BPC_Bipartisan on 2022 primary turnout. https://t.co/0PpQfZJGdu

[Dave Wasserman @Redistrict]

New @BPC_Bipartisan report finds that 21.3% of eligible voters cast ballots in 2022 primaries, up from 19.9% in 2018 and historic low of 14.3% in 2014.

But, still means small groups of hardcore partisans are electing vast majority of members of Congress. https://t.co/QEHDSWauQP