The popularity and approval of a Governor among their state citizenry is a central form of political capital that animates the informal power key to their legislative success and bolsters their prospects for reelection. Within the extant literature exploring the sources of approval of state executives, the lion"s share of the work focuses on the deleterious effects on approval of a poorly performing national and state economy. In the present article, we rely upon the same logic underlying the economic centered research-namely, that unhappy citizens blame governors and state governments for their discontent-but focus on the impact on approval of an entirely separate and relatively unexplored domain of life in a state: ethno-demographics. This article advances the hypothesis that citizen discontent over drastic ethnic change in their local environment is politicized as concern over immigration, which in turn serves as a concrete political issue through which personal discontent over increased ethnic diversity is translated into lower approval of state government. This hypothesis is tested within the context of the state of California using pooled statewide survey data. Our analyses demonstrate that growth in the Hispanic population within a respondent"s county of residence significantly increases concern over immigration within the state, and that concern over immigration significantly decreases approval of state government across the board, including the Governor, the state legislature, and one"s local state representatives.

Objectives We investigate whether American Indian legislation is prevalent in state legislative agendas. Methods We examine proposed and passed legislation in states for the years 1998–2007. Results Our findings suggest that states with legislative and executive institutions that address Native issues, as well as larger American Indian constituencies, are more likely to initiate and pass American Indian legislation. We also find that states with larger legislative agendas propose and pass more Native legislations, although the amount of Native legislation has been dropping in recent years. Conclusion Native legislation is on the state policy agenda and both Indian Nations and state governments influence the size of the Native policy agenda.

Researchers and mediators have long been concerned about coercion, intimidation, and safety threats that could occur in mediation for cases where previous violence between the parties has occurred. Most of the research focuses on screening tools to identify parties at risk. When parties screen positive for intimate partner violence (IPV), some proceed to mediation and some do not, depending on the policies of individual mediation programs. But this misses a step: Some cases may benefit from mediation while others won't, but how can we predict whether mediation will be useful and safe in specific instances? This study uses survey data obtained from parties in domestic relations mediations to examine issues of safety, satisfaction, and settlement in the presence of various IPV behaviors.

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Past research demonstrates that free time is an important resource for political participation. We investigate whether two central drains on citizens’ daily time—working and commuting—impact their level of political participation. The prevailing “resources” model offers a quantity-focused view where additional time spent working or commuting reduces free time and should each separately decrease participation. We contrast this view to a “commuter’s strain” hypothesis, which emphasizes time spent in transit as a psychologically onerous burden over and above the workday. Using national survey data, we find that time spent working has no effect on participation, while commuting significantly decreases participation. We incorporate this finding into a comprehensive model of the “daily grind,” which factors in both socioeconomic status and political interest. Our analysis demonstrates that commuting leads to the greatest loss in political interest for low-income Americans, and that this loss serves as a main mechanism through which commuting erodes political participation.