Party at the Ballot Box
The Spring 2026 William V. Shannon’47, LITT.D. ’64 Lecture will be presented by Dr. Melissa Michelson, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Menlo College, she will speak on her new book titled, Party at the Ballot Box.
Black voters continue to transform America’s electoral landscape and can play a powerful role in determining the outcome of elections. In Party at the Ballot Box, Melissa R. Michelson, Stephanie L. DeMora, and Sarah V. Hayes argue that Black Americans vote as a celebration of community, and that cultivating that sense of community is an effective means of increasing Black voter turnout.
Dr. Michelson is Dean of Arts & Sciences at Menlo College. She earned her BA at Columbia University and her PhD in Political Science from Yale University. She is past president of the American Political Science Association (APSA) Latino Caucus and of the APSA LGBT Caucus. She is a nationally recognized expert in voter mobilization, Latino politics, and LGBTQ politics. She is the award-winning co-author of eight books, including Mobilizing Inclusion: Transforming the Electorate through Get-Out-the-Vote Campaigns and a popular textbook on California Politics. The subject of this talk and her most recent book, Party at the Ballot Box: Mobilizing Black Women Voters, was released by NYU Press last year. Dr. Michelson’s current projects include ongoing research on how best to motivate turnout among low-propensity voters and newly reenfranchised voters, and the power of drag performers to increase participation. In her spare time, she knits and runs marathons. She lives in California with her husband, with whom she has four sons.
Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
This event is sponsored by the Political Science Department through the William V. Shannon ’47 LITT.D. ’64 Endowed Memorial Fund.
