Researching American Campaign Finance Law

I worked under Zachary Albert, a professor of politics at Brandeis University, to research the effects of recent developments in American campaign finance law. The goal of this internship was for me to improve my research skills while also getting a glimpse into political science academia.​​

I completed two large-scale projects during this internship. The first was a literature review which examined (1) changes in academic opinion on campaign finance regulations between 1970 and present day and (2) the direct effects of these regulations on campaign fundraising and spending strategies at all levels of government. The second was an analysis of more than 140,000 Alaskan campaign donations between 2018 and 2022 to determine the behavior of the state’s top individual and group donors before and after the enactment of ranked-choice voting. ​

The work I did this summer helped me become a more skilled researcher in the technical sense – infiltrating Facebook groups and digging through old FEC filings was particularly fun – but it also showed me that I have the stamina to tackle these kinds of long-term projects. I am very excited to use this experience to push my future research projects at Bowdoin and elsewhere to new heights.

Internship funded by the Bowdoin College Alumni Council Internship Fund in memory of Maurice Littlefield '41​.