Louis DeSipio, political science associate professor at UC Irvine, will examine trends in voter-supported bans on state affirmative action programs thanks to a $50,000 grant from the nonprofit Public Interest Projects. Using data from entrance and exit polling, DeSipio and UC Berkeley researchers Lydia Chavez and Andres Jimenez will determine how factors such as demographics, media and special advocacy and interest groups impacted voter decisions about affirmative action in California, Washington and Michigan. DeSipio says the findings should be of interest to both pro- and anti-affirmative action groups looking to sway the November elections in states like Arizona, Nebraska and Colorado, where anti-affirmative action ballot initiatives are in the works.