Meet the Team: Kate Murray
A new teammate joins us at the Lab
We recently welcomed new Senior Research Associate Kate Murray to the team! We hope you'll give her a warm welcome as she introduces herself:
How long have you been at the Lab? What do you do?
I started my position as the newest Senior Research Associate at the Lab in late June. One of my main responsibilities will be overseeing the collection, organization, and analysis of precinct-level election data from the past 3 election cycles. An ambitious task for sure, but I am up for the challenge!
What were you working on before you joined MEDSL?
Before joining MEDSL, I was a student at Mount Holyoke College studying Political Science and Sociology. Over the last year and a half, I worked extensively on my senior honors thesis about the distribution and effects of voting rights legislation and their intersections with party identity. As part of this project, I constructed my own Voter Suppression Index to measure the degree and characteristics of voter suppression in all 50 states. I hope I have the opportunity to expand upon this research while I'm at MEDSL!
How did you become interested in elections?
I first became interested in elections when working on a grassroots voting campaign in the summer of 2020. While I learned that grassroots organizing was not my cup of tea, I also learned that I am really passionate about how American elections are conducted and various obstacles that prevent them from running smoothly. I realized I wanted to be in a place where meaningful knowledge about elections was being produced, and that this knowledge is key to upholding the principles of democracy.
What's your favorite fun fact?
In Switzerland, it's illegal to have just one guinea pig as a pet, because they are very social creatures and easily get lonely!
What MEDSL project are you most excited about?
There are so many projects I'm excited about at MEDSL, but I'm especially looking forward to how the Elections Performance Index will be impacted by the 2022 election data.
