“In political science, not so many things are as certain as the six-year itch.”

That “itch” is the term that describes the voting population’s dissatisfaction with the policies and politics of the sitting president—no matter whether a Democrat or a Republican, according to Dr. Charles Bullock, an expert in southern politics and the legislative process.

Bullock, the Richard B. Russell Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia, spoke to a packed audience as part of Georgia Perimeter College’s celebration of Constitution Day. His talk was sponsored by the GPC Clarkston Campus History and Politics Club.

Voters typically toss out the president’s party out in mid-term, Bullock said. The only exception to the “itch” rule has been the 1998 election, where the incumbents actually gained seats in an apparent Democrat backlash to the Republican push to impeach President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Bullock’s talk centered on the upcoming mid-term elections on Nov. 4. Key Georgia races include the battle between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss; and the governor’s race, which pits Democrat Jason Carter against incumbent Republican Nathan Deal.

Bullock said white women and African Americans may sway the vote for Democrats in these elections, and he alerted the audience on how the candidates are positioning their political television ads.

He also noted that currently 36 U.S. Senate seats are “up for grabs,” and that the Republicans need six seats to regain control of the Senate. “And 29 seats are open for grabs in the U.S. House of Representatives,” he said.

But timing is everything when it comes to House or Senate control, he added. “In 2010, it became a Republican tsunami,” he said, when a majority of Republicans took over U.S. House seats. He postulated that “it won’t be like that this year.”

Still, the district lines will remain in favor of Republicans for at least five more years. “Whoever takes the House majority in a year ending in zero (like 2010) gets to help redraw voting district lines in their favor, he said, due to the U.S. Census numbers coming out every decade.

 The next time the Democrats will have a chance to redraw their voting district lines will be in 2020.

Bullock’s talk was met with enthusiasm from the audience.

“A lot of the political ads are on TV, but most of the students get their information from the internet—and some of it is not very reliable,” said Justin Beaudrot, president of the History and Politics club. “Events like this are valuable and useful to students and offer them a chance to understand issues that affect them.”

Monday, Oct. 6, is the last day to register to vote in fall elections, and the HAP club is sponsoring a voter registration drive in the CN building on GPC’s Clarkston Campus from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Sept. 29-Oct. 2 and Oct. 6.