Samantha Vokaty, '08
When Samantha Vokaty isn’t attending political science classes at Clarkson University, she spends time conducting related research with Professor Christopher Robinson. Vokaty, ’08, of Hillman, Minn, most recently explored the differences in various state elections.
Specifically, Vokaty compared New York’s closed primary with Minnesota’s open primary. New York requires voters to register with a party before voting in primary elections, while Minnesota’s open primary does not mandate that voters declare an affiliation. Her thesis states that a state-regulated, closed primary is preferable to a loosely followed open primary because of the positive effect it has on voter and state politics.
Comparing statistics from both systems, Vokaty concluded that New York’s voter turn-out from primaries has increased 10% since 1950, while Minnesota has from a turnout rate of 30% to 3%.
“Basically, Minnesota’s system is not working, whereas New York system is beginning to function properly,” Vokaty said. “Being from Minnesota and spending the past two years in New York, it has been interesting to be able to compare these two different systems.”
Earlier this year, Vokaty was selected, along with five other Clarkson students, to participate in the inaugural “Independent Sector Undergraduate Research Exposition,” at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. The exposition brought together students, faculty and New York legislators to showcase high quality research posters and presentations. Vokaty shared her research at the exposition saying her summer internship with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party prompted her to explore different political systems.