History
The Black Voter Project (BVP) comes from a need to offer reliable and scientific polling data for African Americans across the United States. With Blacks playing a vital role in securing the Presidency for Obama in both 2008 and 2012, examining Black political attitudes and behavior post-Obama is vital to understanding the continued prospects for racial progress and African-American representation at the highest political level now and in the future. The BVP currently includes two public opinion surveys with data collected from an online questionnaire administered by Survey Sample International (SSI), which is a non-partisan, survey research center with access to mobile panels for market and academic research. Dr. Christopher Towler, an Assistant Professor of Political Science, is the principal investigator on the initial 2017 BVP Pilot Study, and along with Dr. Nyron Crawford as a co-principal investigator, also recently completed the 2019 National BVP survey. The BVP Pilot Study totals 511 African-American respondents from all 50 states. The 2019 National BVP study totals 1545 African-American respondents from all 50 states. The latest study, 2020 National BVP survey, consists of a total 1332 African-American respondents, where 495 responses were recontact interviews of Black respondents previously surveyed in the 2019 National BVP Study, and the remaining 837 interviews were of newly contacted respondents across the country.
Expertise
A decade of experience working on public opinion projects, such as multiple years of the Washington Poll, the 2010 and 2011 Multi-State Surveys of Race and Politics, and now the National BVP and the BVP Pilot Study inform our survey design and method.
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Principal Investigator
PI
Christopher Towler, PhD
Associate Professor, Sacramento State University
Originally from Colorado, Dr. Towler received his BA in Political Science and Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado and his PhD from the University of Washington. Dr. Towler spent three years as an Assistant Professor of African American Politics at Western Washington University before joining Sacramento State. His research experience includes managing or directing at least five different polls, including the Washington Poll, Multi-State Survey of Race and Politics and the Black Voter Project Public Opinion Studies. His work examines ideological predispositions, alienation, political allegiance and support, and recent projects explore the dynamic relationship between progressive social movements and far-right movements reacting to great social change. His work has been published in Perspectives on Politics, Du Bois Review, Washington Post and Politico Magazine.
Education
University of Washington
M.A., Ph.D. 2014
University of Colorado B.A., Political Science/Ethnic Studies, 2008
Social Media
Twitter: @blkprofcct