Bernard L. Fraga is the inaugural Ann and Michael Hankin Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Director of the Program in Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies at Emory University. He studies American elections, focusing on racial/ethnic politics, voter turnout, and the impact of election laws on voters and politicians. He received his B.A. in Political Science and Linguistics from Stanford University and Ph.D. in Government and Social Policy from Harvard University.

Fraga’s 2018 book The Turnout Gap: Race, Ethnicity, and Political Inequality in a Diversifying America looks at White, Black, Latinx, and Asian American turnout and voting patterns from the 1800s to the present. The Turnout Gap documents large and persistent racial/ethnic gaps in participation and explains the causes and consequences of these disparities, indicting a lack of mobilization and engagement with a diversifying electorate. His next book, tentatively titled Why We Won’t Vote, examines the connection between polarization and low voter turnout in the United States. 

Fraga also conducts work on who runs for office, youth voter turnout, partisan competition, Latinx voting trends, and other topics related to contemporary American elections. His research has been published in leading journals including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, Electoral Studies, Political Research Quarterly, Politics, Groups, and Identities, Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, and the Stanford Law Review. Findings from Fraga’s work have been featured in various media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio, CNN, and The Economist. Fraga’s research has been supported by the Carnegie Corporation, National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Mellon Foundation, and various academic institutions. He has won multiple awards including the APSA Section on Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior Emerging Scholar Award, the APSA Section on Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Best Book Award, the MPSA Lucius Barker Award, and the MPSA Latina/o Caucus Early Career Award. Fraga has also served as an expert consultant on multiple cases dealing with elections and voting rights, and regularly advises organizations dedicated to enhancing the civic and electoral engagement of all Americans.