The APSA meeting is coming up next week in San Francisco. I searched the online program using the terms “election reform”, “election law”, and “election administration”, and a subset of hits from “campaign finance”. The following list of panels may be of interest to my readership. Please feel free to chime in on the comments if I have missed any key panels.
—
Short Course: What Works? Strengthening Electoral Integrity
Wed, September 2, 9:00am to 5:00pm, Hilton, Imperial ASession Submission Type: Short Course
Session Description
Details and registration: www.electoralintegrityproject.com Queries: electoralintegrity@gmail.com Co-sponsors: EPOVB, International IDEA, Electoral Integrity Project What are the most effective types of strategic interventions which address common problems and improve the quality of elections? The international community has invested growing resources in strengthening democratic governance, which has come to be understood as a vital component of human development. Domestic reformers have also tried a wire range of measures. Nevertheless the effectiveness of these programs remains to be determined through gathering systematic evaluation evidence using multiple methods and approaches. Workshop panels and break-out work-groups will consider the effectiveness of the following types of initiatives: 1. Monitoring international standards: The role of international and regional inter-governmental bodies strengthening and expanding electoral rights in global conventions, treaties, and guidelines, developing evaluation metrics to monitor compliance with international law, and working with citizens, groups and parties to implement international obligations in domestic laws. 2. Strengthening electoral administration: Building the capacity of electoral management bodies to run contests impartially, efficiently, and fairly. 3. Improving transparency: Deploying international and domestic electoral observers to monitor the quality of elections, deter malpractices, and identify potential reforms. 4. Legal reforms: Improving constitutions and legal frameworks governing elections, including reforms designed to achieve impartial redistricting, accurate electoral registers, well-designed ballots, equitable access to campaign finance and media, secure polling, transparent counts, just dispute resolution mechanisms, and inclusive parliaments. 5. International actors: Investing development aid and technical assistance, and working with local partners, to strengthen elections. 6. Campaign money and media: Strengthening a level playing field and equitable access to campaign resources. This workshop features leading scholars presenting research papers addressing these issues, using a variety of methodological techniques and sources of evidence. Diverse cases are considered from Ireland, the US, and Britain to Tunisia, Pakistan, Croatia, Ghana, Malawi and Brazil, in the attempt to determine ‘what works’ when seeking to strengthen electoral integrity. The workshop will provide all participants with a buffet breakfast, morning and afternoon refreshments, a buffet lunch, and an early evening drinks reception. A limited number of additional $200 domestic travel awards and $600 international travel awards are available for graduate students, women, and international participants included in the program who apply for these when they register. This event will be the seventh in a series of EIP workshops held since 2012 in Madrid, Harvard, Chicago, Manchester, Montreal, and Sydney, building an international network of scholars and practitioners working on challenges of electoral integrity.
Sub Unit
APSA Panels and All Meetings and Receptions
Presenter
PippaPippaNorris, Harvard University
Political Parties and Interest Groups after Citizens United
Thu, September 3, 8:00 to 9:45am, Nikko, Monterey ISession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
Political Parties and Interest Groups after Citizens United
Sub Unit
Related Groups / Campaign Finance Research Group
Chair
RuthS.Jones, Arizona State University
Discussant
MichaelJ.Malbin, University at Albany, SUNY
Individual Submissions
Political Parties and Interest Groups after Citizens United – Convergence or Divergence? Do Parties and Outside Groups Spend on the Same Candidates, and Does It Matter? – DianaDwyre, California State University, Chico; RobinA.Kolodny, Temple University
Interest Group Issue Strategies: Advertising in the 2014 Congressional Elections – ErikaFranklin Fowler, Wesleyan University; MichaelM.Franz, Bowdoin College;TravisN.Ridout, Washington State University
How Purists Dominate Money in Politics – RaymondJ.La Raja, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; BrianF.Schaffner, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
What Would a $1.5 Million Contribution “Limit” Mean for the Parties? – MichaelJ.Malbin, University at Albany, SUNY
The Obama Administration and American Federalism
Thu, September 3, 2:00 to 3:45pm, Nikko, Ballroom ISession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
Authors will present papers analyzing the implications of Obama administration policies and decision-making for federalism and intergovernmental relations, with particular attention to health care, environmental policy, immigration, and voting rights and elections, among other topics.
Sub Unit
Related Groups / Publius: The Journal of Federalism
Cosponsor
DIVISION 28: FEDERALISM AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Chair
JohnDinan, Wake Forest University
Discussants
CynthiaJ.Bowling, Auburn University
ShannaRose, Claremont McKenna College
Individual Submissions
American Federalism in an Era of Partisan Polarization – TimJ.Conlan, George Mason University; PaulL.Posner, George Mason University
Back to the Future? Evolving Interpretations of Voting Rights and Election Administration Issues – KathleenHale, Auburn University
Implementing Obamacare Health Insurance Exchanges: State Government Choices and Policy Outcomes – DaleA.Krane; ShihyunNoh, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Federalism in the Roberts Court – IlyaSomin, George Mason University
Elections Administration: Efficacy and Integrity
Thu, September 3, 4:15 to 6:00pm, Parc 55, DivisaderoSession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
For nearly a decade and a half, there has been an increasing amount of interest in and research regarding the administration of elections. That research has looked at many aspects of the electoral process, for example there are now strands in the literature on voting technology, voter confidence, poll workers, electoral fraud, and electoral integrity. Few have tried to bridge some of these domains, for example trying to examine how the mechanics of elections — how they are managed — effect public confidence and voter efficacy. The way voters perceive how elections are administered, the networks involved in its administration, and the types of individuals who run elections all can affect the confidence and efficacy of voters. This panel will bring together four papers that address issues of electoral integrity and how election administration affects public confidence and efficacy. These papers link together macro-level issues of electoral integrity and election management with more individual-level determinants of how election management affects the efficacy of voters.
Sub Unit
DIVISION 36: ELECTIONS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR
Chair
R.MichaelAlvarez, California Institute of Technology
Individual Submissions
Barriers to Voter Confidence – Volunteerism and Poll Workers – ThadE.Hall, Fors Marsh Group
Stress, Efficacy and Poll Workers – LonnaRaeAtkeson, University of New Mexico
Assessing the Independence of Electoral Management Boards: A Network Approach – TobyS.James, University of East Anglia
Identifying the Determinants of Electoral Integrity in Advanced Democracies – AlistairClark, Newcastle University
Money in Elections: A Franco-American comparison of Political Finance Laws
Thu, September 3, 4:15 to 6:00pm, Hilton, Franciscan BSession Submission Type: Roundtable
Session Description
At first glance, France and the United States seem to represent diametrically opposed systems of campaign finance. In the US, electoral competition is funded by private contributions whereas, since 1988, France has opted for a mostly public financing of political parties and elections. The French media often convey a sense of disbelief in the face of the large sums invested in US elections and are quick to conclude that the system is thoroughly corrupt by the permanent fundraising and the flow of campaign donations. On the other hand, some Americans may criticize the limited amount of information that French candidates for elected office can share with the voters because of the ban on political advertising and the overall control of the availability of political discourse by the State. While they chose diametrically different options as to the source of the funds, the two countries must nonetheless deal with the same challenges around transparency, access, free speech and (un)equal voice. And despite very different approaches both nations experience periodic scandals related to money in politics and the diminishment of public trust in institutions.
The aim of this roundtable panel is to explore the diverse approaches to regulating money in politics (particularly in presidential systems) as an important step in developing a comparative research agenda on political finance. Toward that end we propose assembling experts who can speak directly to common themes and interrelated elements of political finance systems. These elements include the rules on transparency, enforcement (comparing the Commission National des comptes de campagne et des financements politiques (CNCCFP) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC)), the role of the courts in shaping the legal regime, the unintended consequences of various reforms (e.g., micro-partis” in France and “SuperPACs in the US), and attendant concerns about public trust and legitimacy. The last part of the panel will be devoted to discussing the rise of anti-establishment politics in both countries, trying to draw out comparisons in how reforms may support (or not) the success of extremist partisans and the declining influence of “establishment” elites.
Panelists will be asked to make linkages between electoral systems, laws, cultural norms and behaviors in the French and American political finance systems. Ultimately, we seek to begin identifying patterns of elite and public responses to the vexing challenge of financing democratic politics. By engaging an explicit comparative approach to the study of money in politics – which is all too rare — we hope this panel will inspire a rich dialogue and new areas of inquiry. Based on notes from the panel, we will circulate a memo to panelists, audience participants and members of APSA’s related groups to help frame a comparative research agenda
Sub Unit
DIVISION 35: POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS AND PARTIES
Cosponsor
DIVISION 34: REPRESENTATION AND ELECTORAL SYSTEMS
Chair
RaymondJ.La Raja, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Presenters
VincentJeromeMichelot, IEP de Lyon
BruceE.Cain
EricKerrouche, Sciences Po, Bordeaux
AlixMeyer, Universite de Bourgogne
DianaDwyre, California State University, Chico
Electoral Rules, Voting, and Turnout: New Pathways for Research
Fri, September 4, 9:30 to 11:00am, Parc 55, DivisaderoSession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
With the rise in partisanship and polarization in American politics, electoral rules are once again a battlefield. Thousands of new rules and administrative changes to long-standing practices have been proposed and adopted in the states since the controversial 2000 election. This panel brings together leading researchers to examine the impact of some of these changes on voting and turnout.
Sub Unit
DIVISION 36: ELECTIONS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR
Individual Submissions
An Examination of the Impact of Changes to Florida’s Early Voting Statutes – M.V.Hood, University of Georgia
Explaining the Blue Shift in Election Canvassing – CharlesStewart, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; EdwardB.Foley, Ohio State University
The Dynamics of Voting Rights Implementation in a Federal System: Case Studies on Compliance with the National Voter Registration Act in Two States – DouglasR.Hess, Grinnell College
The Impact of State Party Traditions on the Voting Experience – PaulS.Herrnson, University of Connecticut; RichardG.Niemi, University of Rochester; KellyD.Patterson, Brigham Young University; JayGoodliffe, Brigham Young University
Chair
LorraineC.Minnite, Rutgers University-Camden
Discussants
ChristopherS.Elmendorf, UC Davis
RobertS.Erikson
Voter Reform and Suppression
Sat, September 5, 8:00 to 9:45am, Hilton, Continental Parlor 7Session Submission Type: Paper Session
Sub Unit
DIVISION 36: ELECTIONS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR
Individual Submissions
A Reassessment of the Turnout Effects of Election Reforms in the American States – DanielA.Smith, University of Florida; MichaelP.McDonald, University of Florida
The Negative Effect of Voter ID Laws on Hispanic (and Democratic) Turnout – ZoltanL.Hajnal, University of California, San Diego; NazitaLajevardi, UCSD
The Two Income-Participation Gaps – ChristopherOjeda, Pennsylvania State University
Voter Suppression or Voter Fraud in the 2014 US Elections – PippaPippaNorris, Harvard University; Holly AnnGarnett, McGill University
Why the Sky didn’t Fall: Voter ID Laws and Participation – NicholasA.Valentino, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; FabianGuyNeuner, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Chair
BenHighton, University of California, Davis
Discussant
CostasPanagopoulos, Fordham University
What Goes Up Must Come Down: Courts, Federalism and the States
Sun, September 6, 10:15am to 12:00pm, Hilton, Union Square 15Session Submission Type: Paper Session
Sub Unit
DIVISION 26: LAW AND COURTS
Cosponsor
DIVISION 28: FEDERALISM AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Individual Submissions
Judicial Federalism, State Policy, and Representation \\ – JohnP.Kastellec, Princeton University
‘Political Questions’ and U.S. Redistricting: The Road Not Taken – KirstenNussbaumer, Stanford University
The Political Context of the New Judicial Federalism – KenMiller, Claremont McKenna College
What Predicts Bailout from Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act? A TSCS Analysis – DavidBlanding, McDaniel College
Chair
RyanEmenaker, College of the Redwoods
Discussant
RyanEmenaker, College of the Redwoods
Political Parties and Campaign Finance in the Post-Citizens United World
Sat, September 5, 10:15am to 12:00pm, Hilton, Mason RoomSession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
Political Parties and Campaign Finance in the Post-Citizens United World
Sub Unit
Related Groups / Law and Political Process Study Group
Chair
DanielH.Lowenstein, University of California, Los Angeles
Discussant
YasminDawood, University of Toronto
Individual Submissions
Ideological Donors, Contribution Limits, and the Polarization of American Legislatures – MichaelBarber, Brigham Young University
The Federalist Safeguards of Politics – AnthonyJohnstone, University of Montana
Legislators as Party Elites: Intraparty Factionalism and Presidential Politics in the New Hampshire State House – SethE.Masket, University of Denver
Democratic Romanticism – RichardPildes, New York University
Electoral Rules and Voting Behavior
Sun, September 6, 10:15am to 12:00pm, Hilton, Van Ness RoomSession Submission Type: Paper Session
Session Description
These papers examine how electoral rules like primary type, early voting, voting by mail, and direct democracy initiatives affect voter knowledge and participation in state elections.
Sub Unit
DIVISION 29: STATE POLITICS AND POLICY
Individual Submissions
Are Some Voters a Lost Cause? An Experiment in a Top-2 Primary – SethJ.Hill, University of California, San Diego; ThadKousser, University of California, San Diego
That’s How I Roll (Off): Voter Abstention in Direct Democracy Elections – ShaunBowler, University of California, Riverside; StephenP.Nicholson, University of California, Merced
Direct Democracy’s Educative Effects: A View from the Voters – CraigM.Burnett, University of North Carolina Wilmington; JanineA.Parry, University of Arkansas; JayBarth, Hendrix College
Voter Turnout and Satisfaction with Mail-in Voting and Election Day Registration – RobertM.Stein; AndrewMenger, Rice University; GregW.Vonnahme, University of Missouri, Kansas City
Your Ballot’s in the Mail: the Effects of Unsolicited Absentee Ballots – MichaelD.Martinez, University of Florida; DanielA.Smith, University of Florida
The APSA meeting is coming up next week in San Francisco. I searched the online program using the terms “election reform”, “election law”, and “election administration”, and a subset of hits from “campaign finance”. The following list of panels may be of interest to my readership. Please feel free to chime in on the comments if I have missed any key panels.
—
Short Course: What Works? Strengthening Electoral Integrity
Wed, September 2, 9:00am to 5:00pm, Hilton, Imperial ASession Submission Type: Short Course
Session Description
Sub Unit
Presenter
Political Parties and Interest Groups after Citizens United
Thu, September 3, 8:00 to 9:45am, Nikko, Monterey ISession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
Sub Unit
Chair
Discussant
Individual Submissions
The Obama Administration and American Federalism
Thu, September 3, 2:00 to 3:45pm, Nikko, Ballroom ISession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
Sub Unit
Cosponsor
Chair
Discussants
Individual Submissions
Elections Administration: Efficacy and Integrity
Thu, September 3, 4:15 to 6:00pm, Parc 55, DivisaderoSession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
Sub Unit
Chair
Individual Submissions
Money in Elections: A Franco-American comparison of Political Finance Laws
Thu, September 3, 4:15 to 6:00pm, Hilton, Franciscan BSession Submission Type: Roundtable
Session Description
Sub Unit
Cosponsor
Chair
Presenters
Electoral Rules, Voting, and Turnout: New Pathways for Research
Fri, September 4, 9:30 to 11:00am, Parc 55, DivisaderoSession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
Sub Unit
Individual Submissions
Chair
Discussants
Voter Reform and Suppression
Sat, September 5, 8:00 to 9:45am, Hilton, Continental Parlor 7Session Submission Type: Paper Session
Sub Unit
Individual Submissions
Chair
Discussant
What Goes Up Must Come Down: Courts, Federalism and the States
Sun, September 6, 10:15am to 12:00pm, Hilton, Union Square 15Session Submission Type: Paper Session
Sub Unit
Cosponsor
Individual Submissions
Chair
Discussant
Political Parties and Campaign Finance in the Post-Citizens United World
Sat, September 5, 10:15am to 12:00pm, Hilton, Mason RoomSession Submission Type: Full Panel
Session Description
Sub Unit
Chair
Discussant
Individual Submissions
Electoral Rules and Voting Behavior
Sun, September 6, 10:15am to 12:00pm, Hilton, Van Ness RoomSession Submission Type: Paper Session
Session Description
Sub Unit
Individual Submissions
Chair
Discussant