Lecture by Peter J. Ling: Testing the Riggings – Problems and Scandals in Presidential Elections from 1972 to 2024

This public talk organised by the Lincoln branch of the Historical Association will take place on Monday 10 March at 6.15pm, with refreshments beforehand and questions afterwards. It will take place on the University of Lincoln’s Brayford Pool campus in the Co-op Lecture Theatre (Minerva Building, MB0312). Register here: https://tinyurl.com/mu8z79r4.

Abstract: Scandals have affected numerous elections in the last half century ranging from Nixon’s ‘dirty tricks’ exposed by the Watergate break-in, through smear campaigns and salacious revelations to the myriad scandals of the Trump era. However, what is striking is the numerous ways in which it is possible to boost or suppress effective voting. This talk will show how some scandals such as the wafer-thin margin of victory of George W. Bush in 2000 in Florida (where his brother was Governor) was more down to incompetence than malicious interference, and how the recent election was shaped by a series of Democratic missteps and a new repertoire of media tactics.

Speaker: Professor Peter J. Ling is Emeritus Professor of American Studies at the University of Nottingham where he taught for over thirty years. He is best known for his two biographies Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy, both published in the Routledge Historical Biographies series. However, his seventh and most recent monograph, After Watergate: Political Scandals from Nixon to Trump (2024) brings his work firmly up to date and is reflected in his talk.

Any questions about the talk or the Lincoln branch of the HA can be directed to Prof. Jamie Wood (jwood@lincoln.ac.uk).

Story submitted by Jamie Wood
jwood@lincoln.ac.uk