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While the vast of majority voting in Congress occurs during regular working hours, two percent of the recorded votes and eleven percent of Key Votes each session over the last 15 years have occurred late into the evening. The purpose of this research is to examine this unique set of votes that members of Congress cast while burning the midnight oil. Although these late night votes represent only a small percentage of roll-call votes, they are clearly important to members of Congress, or at least their leaders, who are extremely busy. Roll-call votes scheduled late in the evening undoubtedly interfere with members' regular schedules, and no member wants to spend their night on the hill after a long day of Washington work. The results of our analyses indicate the majority of late night voting can be explained by the strategic rush hypothesis which suggests members burn the midnight oil prior to long recesses and also later in the week in order to return to their constituents. We also find late night voting may be the result of an over burdened legislature. Finally, our results confirm the growing power of Congressional leaders, particularly in the House, to utilize and even abuse the legislative schedule to meet their policy and reelection goals.

Utility deregulation has been the focus of research examining the role of policy diffusion in state policy innovation. In this study, a model of policy innovation is employed to determine the factors that influence the probability of a state restructuring its electric utility policies. Examined are the effects of industrial:residential price ratio disparities, the relative cost of energy in each state, the selection process of public utility commissions, legislative professionalism, the partisanship of state legislatures, interest group influences, and regional diffusion on the likelihood of a state adopting energy deregulation policies. The findings indicate that economic factors determine the policy choices of state legislatures. The policy diffusion model generally is sustained even though, in retrospect, the policy of deregulation of the electric industry generally has been considered to be a failure. Adapted from the source document.

During the last 30 years, the Republicans have expoused an interesting assortment of economic, international, and social conservatism, with each aspect having more prominence at distinct times. Examining key votes throughout this period, we assess how the most recent converts to the party, those from Southern states, align with Republicans from other regions on each of these three dimensions. We also estimate the relative importance of each of the three dimensions annually during this period. Finally, we examine whether the lack of coherence that haunted the Congressional Democrats through the first half of the Cold War era has merely found a new resting place in the Republican Party. In order to analyze these issues, House roll call votes from 1975 to 2000 are examined in order to determine how closely Southern and non‐Southern Republicans are aligned. Next, various issue dimensions are reviewed to assess how party cohesion is affected when different sets of issues take on greater legislative importance. Our findings confirm that issue dimensions affect party cohesion and that regional differences are an important distinction to consider when analyzing House Republicans in a modern context.

During the last 30 years, the Republicans have espoused an interesting assortment of economic, international, & social conservatism, with each aspect having more prominence at distinct times. Examining key votes throughout this period, we assess how the most recent converts to the party, those from southern states, align with Republicans from other regions on each of these three dimensions. We also estimate the relative importance of each of the three dimensions annually during this period. Finally, we examine whether the lack of coherence that haunted the Congressional Democrats through the first half of the Cold War era has merely found a new resting place in the Republican Party. To analyze these issues, House role call votes from 1975 to 2000 are examined to determine how closely southern & non-southern Republicans are aligned. Next, various issue dimensions are reviewed to assess how party cohesion is affected when different sets of issues take on greater legislative importance. Our findings confirm that issue dimensions affect party cohesion & that regional differences are an important distinction to consider when analyzing House Republicans in a modern context. 7 Tables, 2 Figures, 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

ABSTRACT
ChatGPT has captured the attention of the academic world with its remarkable ability to write, summarize, and even pass rigorous exams. This article summarizes the primary concerns that political science faculty have about ChatGPT and similar AI software with regard to academia. We discuss results of a national survey of political scientists that we conducted in March 2023 to assess faculty attitudes toward ChatGPT and their strategies for effectively engaging with it in the classroom. We present several assignment ideas that limit the potential for cheating with ChatGPT—a primary concern of faculty—and describe ways to incorporate ChatGPT into faculty teaching. Several suggestions for syllabi that address political science students' use of ChatGPT also are provided.

This article dissects the sources of partisan bias in the institutional structure of the U.S. electoral college. Conventional wisdom and results of recent presidential elections suggest that the electoral college is biased in favor of the Republican Party. While previous empirical studies have challenged this conventional wisdom, George Bush's 2000 electoral college victory revived this debate. Our research provides a direct analysis of the multiple sources of bias within the electoral college and examines their individual impact on each party's electoral fortunes over the last eleven elections (1964‐2004) with particular attention on the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Our results are in line with previous analyses indicating no significant bias within the electoral college. We conclude that parties and their presidential candidates are rational political actors who utilize sophisticated campaign strategies which allow them to efficiently employ their resources and limit any institutional disadvantages they may face.

While most African Americans identify with the Democratic Party, a small minority chooses to identify and support the party of Lincoln. However, very little is known about the demographic make-up or policy preferences of these individuals. Utilizing the 1992-2002 American National Election Studies, we provide a multivariate analysis of the demographic characteristics and policy leanings of African American Republicans. Our analysis suggests several systematic patterns regarding African Americans Republican Party identification. First, as with the general population, we find they are more likely to be male, from the South and to identify themselves as conservatives. However, unlike the general population, we find they are not more likely to maintain upper or middle incomes or to view religion as an important guide in their life. Third, we find African Americans born after 1950 are more likely to identify themselves as Republican. Fourth, we find African American Republicans feel less warmth toward blacks than the majority of their brethren and are less likely to view race or social welfare issues as significant problems in America. Ultimately, we conclude racial issues are still the key to understanding African American Partisanship.

While most African Americans identify with the Democratic Party, a small minority chooses to identify & support the party of Lincoln. However, very little is known about the demographic make-up or policy preferences of these individuals. Utilizing the 1992-2002 American National Election Studies, we provide a multivariate analysis of the demographic characteristics & policy leanings of African American Republicans. Our analysis suggests several systematic patterns regarding African Americans' Republican Party identification. First, as with the general population, we find they are more likely to be male, from the South & to identify themselves as conservatives. However, unlike the general population, we find they are not more likely to maintain upper or middle incomes or to view religion as an important guide in their life. Third, we find African Americans born after 1950 are more likely to identify themselves as Republican. Fourth, we find African American Republicans feel less warmth toward blacks than the majority of their brethren & are less likely to view race or social welfare issues as significant problems in America. Ultimately, we conclude racial issues are still the key to understanding African American Partisanship. Tables, Figures, Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.

ObjectiveWe aim to test the hypothesis that college students provide Democratic candidates with greater electoral support and whether this varies among federal, state, and local elections. We also test whether college students mobilized by presidential campaigns are more likely to abstain from voting for state and local elections.MethodsTo examine these questions, we employed OLS and difference‐of‐means tests to analyze the distribution of votes cast in competitive elections for the November 2008 elections in 86 precincts located on 42 college campuses across five states as compared to the distribution of votes cast in noncollege precincts. College precincts were identified by representatives from each community's local Board of Elections.ResultsIn line with conventional wisdom, the results of the analyses indicate Democratic candidates for federal offices do consistently receive greater electoral support from precincts located on college campuses as compared to noncollege precincts. However, the analyses of state and local elections highlight substantial variation in the level of support that Democratic candidates receive from precincts located on college campuses. Moreover, we found many college students in 2008 cast their ballots for Obama, but chose not to participate in lower‐level elections.ConclusionRepublican fears regarding college students turning small towns on their heads via the ballot box are not supported by our analyses. On average, students vote more democratically than nonstudents but they are also more likely to simply choose not to vote for local candidates. By and large, they come to the polls to vote for national offices, not local ones.