GREENEVILLE – A Tusculum University political science major recently represented the institution at a statewide virtual conference with a presentation on elections.
Samantha England
Samantha England, a sophomore, made the presentation “Indirect Elections of the Executive Branch” at the Tennessee Collegiate Honors Council 2021. She said the focus of her presentation was to compare how the United States elected the executive branch compared to parliamentary republics that used indirect elections.
In indirect elections, voters do not pick between candidates who will occupy the office but elect others who make the choice.
“The United States is known for using the Electoral College, but it is not common knowledge that it is not wholly unique to us,” she said. “My presentation focused on Estonia, India and Vanuatu using indirect elections to elect the executive branch of their governments. I compared the structure of their governments and their electoral systems to the United States. I highlighted the key points that differed and what was similar to the United States.
“My goal was to educate that democracies can be very similar while still having differences.”
Dr. Mary Cooper, associate professor of political science and director of Tusculum’s Honors Program, said England’s presentation grew from a research paper she completed in the fall semester in Dr. Cooper’s special topics class on the 2020 election cycle.
“Sam exemplifies intellectual curiosity and commitment to excellence in everything she does,” Dr. Cooper said. “She is already showing impressive scholarship as a student, and that was reflected in her well-developed presentation. We are confident she will emerge from her studies prepared to make an impact in her profession.”
For more information about the university’s political science program, please visit https://web.tusculum.edu/academics/programs/political-science/.