Monica Andrea Bustinza

Democracy Programs Director, Engage Miami

Areas of Expertise:

Elections & Voting

Connect with Monica

About Monica

Bustinza's research focuses on election administration and voter participation in the United States. Overarching themes in Bustinza's writings include policy implementation, administrative burden, emotional labor, election violence, voter access, and barriers. Bustinza is a director on the state board of the League of Women Voters of Florida and previously interned at the Supervisor of Elections office in Miami-Dade County.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Engaging Today’s Young People in the Electoral Process

Amanda D. Clark

Basic Facts Brief, September 2023

In the News

Quoted by Rachel Janfaza in "Republicans Are Targeting the Youth Vote in 2024, But Students Are Fighting Back," Teen Vogue, August 7, 2023.

Guest on August Impact Collaborative, Women's Fund Miami, August 3, 2023.

Opinion: "Why Voting and Celebration Should Go Hand-in-Hand on College Campuses," Monica Andrea Bustinza, Common Dreams, October 22, 2022.

Opinion: "With Election Misinformation Everywhere, Trust Local Supervisors of Election," Monica Andrea Bustinza (with Amanda D. Clark), Sun Sentinel, September 19, 2022.

Publications

"Policing the Vote: Election Integrity Units in Florida and Ohio," (with Amanda D. Clark and Nicholas Martinez), All Voting is Local, 2024.

Examines the evolution of Election Integrity Units in Florida and Ohio, exposing their origins, funding sources, and operational strategies. Highlights how these units, purportedly created to safeguard election integrity, have instead become instruments for voter suppression, disproportionately targeting communities of color and echoing historical patterns of discrimination.

"Heavy Lifting: Emotional Labor and Election Administration" (with Amanda D. Clark and Christina S. Barsky). Administration & Society 55, no. 2 (2022).

Delves into the effects of emotional labor on election workers within the current context. Reveals the existence and intricacies of emotional labor within the administration of elections, prompting inquiries into its implications for the future of election administration.

"Immigrants, Deviants, and Drug Users: A Rhetorical Analysis of President Trump’s Fear-Driven Tweets During the 2019 Government Shutdown" (with Kaila Witkowski). Policy & Internet 14, no. 4 (2022): 788-806.

Analyzed how political officials use social media to gain influence, specifically looking at President Trump's rhetoric on immigration during 2018-2019. Found that Trump used fear-inducing language to target vulnerable groups and gain political support, highlighting the negative impact of fear-based rhetoric.

"Observation Research in Emergency and Disaster Management" (with Kira Haensel and Nazife Emel Ganapati), in Disaster and Emergency Management Methods, edited by Jason D. Rivera (Routledge, 2021).

Discusses how observation can be a useful tool in emergency management research, providing a firsthand account of situations and immersing audiences in the experience. Encourages further exploration of the observation method.