Marayna Martinez

Voting access reforms and policy feedback effects on political efficacy and trust

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 20:52:21 +0000

Voting access reforms and policy feedback effects on political efficacy and trust Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 14:52

Voting access reforms and policy feedback effects on political efficacy and trust

By: Andrew Trexler, Marayna Martinez, Mallory E SoRelle

Abstract:

In 2020, states pursued divergent voting access reforms in an effort to facilitate a safe and secure election in the midst of a global pandemic. For some voters, options like mail-in or no-excuse absentee voting were familiar; for others, they were novel. While scholars have explored how election reforms affect turnout, we know less about how state-level electoral policies influence people's political efficacy and trust, and how political context and voter partisanship condition those effects. Employing a policy feedback framework, our analysis combines original data on state changes to election procedures with ANES survey data from 1988 to 2020 to understand the context-specific effects of voting access reforms on people's political efficacy and trust. Using time-event difference-in-difference analysis, we find little evidence that electoral reforms affect political efficacy and trust overall; however, partisanship and state political context appear necessary to understand the true relationship between electoral reform and political behavior.

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How does the racial composition of high schools affect political participation among students of color?

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 20:51:06 +0000

How does the racial composition of high schools affect political participation among students of color? Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 14:51

How does the racial composition of high schools affect political participation among students of color?

By: Marayna Martinez

Abstract:

Long before Americans become eligible voters, they have key experiences that influence their propensity to engage in politics. Experiences within K-12 public schools may convey messages to students about their roles as citizens while also conferring essential resources necessary for political participation. This paper seeks to understand how school racial compositions affected nonwhite students long-term, in this case, their levels of political participation. I hypothesize that while nonwhite students in predominantly white schools receive better resources, they are also likely to have worse social experiences compared to comparable students in majority-minority schools. Using the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study and the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, I find that attending a predominantly white high school is associated with more negative school experiences and higher resources for students of color in 1988, but not 2002. Resources and experiences are countervailing mechanisms that pull political participation in opposite directions but change over time. Overall, during peak school integration, attending a predominantly white high school is associated with lower levels of political participation for students of color.

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Welcoming New Faculty Members

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 17:33:52 +0000

Welcoming New Faculty Members Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/27/2024 - 11:33

The �Ͼ�Ʒ�� Political Science Department would like to announce and welcome new faculty members to the department!

Marayna Martinez- studying American politics with a focus on education policy. Her research and teaching interests include race and ethnic politics, political behavior, policy feedback, and K12 education policy. She is particularly interested in the feedback effects of public education on the political development of children of color.

Her page on the PSCI website is here- /polisci/people/faculty/marayna-martinez

Her personal website here- https://www.marayna-martinez.com/

Michelangelo Landgrave- He holds graduate degrees in Political Science and Economics. He has previously held positions at Princeton University, the Federal Government's Office of Evaluation Sciences, and the University of Missouri. He broadly studies immigration politics, state & local politics, and legislative studies. He organizes the Boulder Race & Ethnic Politics (REP) Lab.

His page on the PSCI website is here- /polisci/people/faculty/michelangelo-landgrave

His personal website here- https://www.michelangelo.mx/

Alexandra Palmer- She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder and her research interests focus on judicial politics.. As an instructor, she teaches a variety of classes in American Politics, including courses on the American Congress, U.S. Campaigns and Elections, and U.S. Constitutional Law.

Her page on the PSCI website is here- /polisci/people/faculty/alexandra-palmer

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