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Abstract
With the onslaught of political chatter that surrounds any presidential election comes conversation about the major political parties and their respective voter bases. Certain populations of voters are expected–by the parties or by other individuals–to vote in particular ways as a combined result of aspects of voters’ identities and other political factors. Studies show that for Black American voters who make up the US Black electorate, the general expectation is that they will vote for Democratic Party presidential candidates. These political norms, historically maintained by various socio-political factors, over time have, as demonstrated by recent election data, been shifting as fewer Black Americans feel beholden to and/or supported by the Democratic Party. This thesis examines the impact of Black political norms on those who violate them, and the ways these norms are evolving in the modern political sphere. Using a series of interviews with Black political norm-violating voters (those who choose to vote for Republican candidates, third-party candidates, or do not vote), this thesis seeks to illustrate that Black voters cannot be sufficiently addressed as a monolithic and uniform group with roughly the same political interests and ways of thinking about the political world. Guided by two primary research questions, “What factors impact Black political norm violators’ political action and decisions?” and “How do Black political norm violators think about their place within the Black community and their political role within the electorate?”, this thesis finds that Black political norm violators detach from voting norms for various reasons. These reasons include, but are not limited to, separation of party loyalty from advancement of racially-tied political objectives, devaluing of racial in-group membership, and prioritization of alternative political action. By highlighting the experiences, political ideologies, and actions of six young political norm violators, it both combats the treatment of the Black electorate as a monolith and delves into unique attributes of the Black electorate’s Gen-Z and Millennial voters. This work seeks to fill in these gaps, launch conversations around the ideological diversity within the Black electorate, and draw attention to its transformation.