{"id":651860,"date":"2026-03-13T04:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T04:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/651860\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T04:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T04:32:11","slug":"jacksonville-state-professor-works-to-combat-election-misinformation-through-civic-education-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/651860\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville State professor works to combat election misinformation through civic education initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (WBRC<\/a>)\u2014 A Jacksonville State University (JSU) professor is pushing back on social media claims that midterm elections could be halted due to international conflict, saying the Constitution makes clear that is not possible.<\/p>\n

The professor is also leading a new statewide initiative aimed at strengthening civic education across Alabama.<\/p>\n

Election misinformation and the Constitution<\/p>\n

Dr. Benjamin Gross, a political science professor at Jacksonville State University, said misinformation about elections points to a broader problem \u2014 that many people were never taught enough about how the U.S. government works.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe US Constitution makes very clear that the House of Representatives needs to have an election every two years, and that each Senate position needs to have an election every six years,\u201d Gross said. \u201cAnd so while there is flexibility to move exactly when those elections happen, the actual cycle of a two-year midterm election needs to happen constitutionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Historical records show the United States has continued to hold elections during major national crises, including wars, economic downturns, and pandemics.<\/p>\n

Center for Leadership in American Principles<\/p>\n

Gross also serves as director of the Center for Leadership in American Principles at Jacksonville State<\/b><\/a>. The center recently received a $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education through the American History and Civics Seminars Program to expand civic education efforts across Alabama.<\/p>\n

\u201cCivic education is learning the responsibilities and the rights to be a member of a political community,\u201d Gross said.<\/p>\n

Teacher seminars planned statewide<\/p>\n

The initiative focuses on helping teachers bring stronger civics lessons into classrooms across the state. Each summer, the center plans to host week-long seminars at Jacksonville State University for both current and future teachers.<\/p>\n

The seminars will include instruction from experts, work with historical documents, and visits to significant historic sites across Alabama.<\/p>\n

Gross said the program is designed to remove barriers that often prevent teachers from attending professional development opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to provide them with an honorarium,\u201d Gross said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to give them primary sources and tools they can use in the classroom. We\u2019re going to provide their lodging and reimburse them for their travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first summer seminar will focus on K-5 teachers, with programs for middle and high school educators planned in the future. The application<\/b><\/a> deadline is April 17.<\/p>\n

Get news alerts in the Apple App Store<\/a> and Google Play Store<\/a> or subscribe to our email newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WBRC. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (WBRC)\u2014 A Jacksonville State University (JSU) professor is pushing back on social media claims that midterm…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[7373,276647,5229,276646,276651,276645,8988,276650,276644,3188,723,26654,30009,30007,30008,7310,103795,26657,276643,26658,276648,276649,26655,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,26652,30012,30013,30010,30011,30006],"class_list":["post-651860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-2026-elections","tag-alabama-teacher-civics-seminar","tag-america","tag-center-for-leadership-in-american-principles","tag-center-for-leadership-in-american-principles-at-jacksonville-state","tag-civic-education-grant-alabama","tag-election","tag-election-misinformation","tag-election-misinformation-alabama","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-fox-6","tag-fox-6-news","tag-fox6","tag-fox6-news","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-state","tag-jacksonville-state-university","tag-jacksonville-state-university-civic-education","tag-jsu","tag-jsu-political","tag-jsu-political-science","tag-myfoxal","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wbrc","tag-wbrc-6-news","tag-wbrc-6news","tag-wbrc-fox-6-news","tag-wbrc-fox6-news","tag-wbrc-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}