Open Discussion - Section Activities

At the section's business meeting in Toronto, we discussed the possibility of pursuing new member services. Among the items we discussed were:

• Offering a journal subscription along with section membership (with an increased membership fee);
• Developing a section journal;
• Adopting new online services offered through APSA, including social networking features;
• Developing a listserv to discuss ongoing elections (as a complement to other resources, such as section member Matt Shugart's Fruits and Votes);
• Organizing an annual reception at APSA (independently, or in collaboration with another group).

Feel free to add comments on these services, or others that you would like to have the section offer. Comments are moderated, so please be patient if there is a lag between your comment's submission and its publication.

New Chair and Executive Committee

At the section's business meeting in Toronto, Andre Blais announced the Nominating Committee's recommendations for the new chair and executive committee. The proposed slate was approved at the meeting. The section's chair for 2009-2011 is Shaun Bowler (University of California - Riverside), and the executive committee includes Kathy Bawn (UCLA), Sarah Birch (University of Essex), Kenneth Carty (University of British Columbia), Matt Golder (Florida State University), Erik Herron (University of Kansas), Iain McLean (University of Oxford), and Jack Vowles (University of Exeter). The section thanks Andre Blais and the outgoing members of the executive committee for their many years of hard work on behalf of the section.

Business Meeting at APSA

The Representation and Electoral Systems section will hold its annual business meeting on Friday, September 4 at 12:15 p.m. (location TBA). All members and those interested in the section are invited to attend.

APSA Preliminary Program

APSA's preliminary program for the 2009 convention is online. The section's panels include:

	34-1 The Impact of Gender Quotas: Descriptive, Substantive, and Symbolic Representation
	34-2 Turnout and Electoral Institutions
	34-3 The Complexity of Electoral System Change: The Role of Values
	34-4 Minority and Descriptive Representation
	34-5 Comparing the Representative Outcomes of Institutional Differences
	34-6 Beyond the Ballot Box: Institutions, Participation and Representation
	34-7 Theme Panel: Citizens' Assemblies and Deliberative Democracy
	34-8 Representation and Legislative Behavior
	34-9 The Best Women for the Job: Comparative Perspectives on Female Politicians’ Pathways to Power
	34-10 Party Linkage and Party Government in Contemporary Democracies
	34-11 Bias and Responsiveness in Electoral Systems

April 2009 Newsletter

The April newsletter is available to all members. The newsletter includes information about the section, updates on the study of representation and electoral systems around the world, and a bibliography of recently published books and articles.

To become a member, please visit the APSA website. Back issues are available on this website (see the sidebar).

EPOP 2009 Conference

From the Polmeth list, a conference that may be of interest to members:

EPOP 2009 - CALL FOR PANEL AND PAPER PROPOSALS

We would like to request proposals of either complete panels or individual papers for the 2009 meeting of the Elections, Public Opinion and Parties (EPOP) section of the of the Political Studies Association, to be held at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland (28-30 August 2009).

As with all EPOP conferences, we are interested in receiving proposals relating to any aspect of the fields of public opinion, elections and parties research, whether focused on the UK or a broader comparative perspective. Our main interest is to feature quality, rigorous research regardless of methodological approach.

Panel and Paper proposals should be submitted using the online forms at http://www.epop09.com. Please be sure to fill in all boxes. Incomplete proposals will not be accepted.

If you are proposing a full panel please note that all proposed panels should have a minimum of three papers and a maximum of four. All panel proposals should be completed using the online form, including an abstract for each paper. (A panel on survey methodology would be particularly welcomed.)

If you are proposing a paper, please submit an abstract of no more than 200 words using the online form.

Please visit http://www.epop09.com for more details and to submit a paper proposal.

DEADLINE: Friday, 8 May 2009

EPOP 2009 Academic Conveners:
Christopher Carman
Robert Johns

Department of Government
University of Strathclyde

email: epop2009@gmail.com

Reminder - APSA 2009 Proposals Due

Don't forget to submit proposals for the annual conference by December 15, 2008.