D emocratic theory is contingent on the notion that representatives should take action on behalf of their constituents and that citizens can use elections to reward or punish legislators for the actions taken on their behalf (Downs 1957;Riker 1982). Yet, measuring the effects of legislator action on subsequent voter behavior has proven to be a thorny problem for legislative scholars.At the root of this problem is measuring the causal effect of legislative action. Observational studies preclude us from separating the effect of legislating from other characteristics of the individual legislator or political system that may confound the independent effect of introducing legislation. Without being able to separate the independent effect of legislative action from other possible explanations of electoral viability, we cannot be certain

This article examines the potential for Internet discussion boards to be a vehicle for political deliberation through a case study of the BC Votes discussion board during British Columbia's 2001 provincial election. Research reveals that the board was dominated by a relatively small number of users and that the favourite discussion topics were not issues but how parties and leaders were performing. The authors conclude that the perception of ideological homogeneity in online discussion may be overstated and that the first post in a discussion thread has an important agenda-setting function. They also find that the relative newness of discussion boards may play a role in shaping the nature of discussion there.Résumé : Afin d'examiner le potentiel des babillards électroniques comme véhi-cules de débats politiques, cet article offre une étude de cas sur le babillard BC Votes lors des élections provinciales en Colombie-Britannique en 2001. Les auteurs démontrent que relativement peu d'usagers dominaient le babillard et que les sujets préférés de discussion ne touchaient pas aux enjeux de la campagne électorale, mais plutôt à la performance des parties politiques et de leurs leaders. Les auteurs concluent que l'homogénéité idéologique des babillards électroni-ques n'est peut-être qu'une perception exagérée et que souvent le ton polémique du débat est dicté par le premier message dans un fil de discussion. Les auteurs concluent aussi que le caractère relativement nouveau des babillards reflète sur la spécificité de la discussion qui s'y déroule.

Does a candidate's pathway to parliament affect subsequent legislative roles and behavior? Party candidate nomination processes in Canada are very decentralized, with responsibility for candidate selection allocated to the local constituency associations. However, candidates may also secure a nomination by being "parachuted" into a constituency: appointed by the party leader as the candidate who will stand for the party in the general election. This practice is most common in the Liberal Party of Canada, and as such we study this party's candidates in the six most recent elections (between 1993 and 2008) in order to explore both (a) the characteristics of parachuted and locally nominated MPs; and (b) the legislative consequences of parachuting candidates into constituencies. We find that party leaders are using the power of appointment to recruit both star candidates and women into the House of Commons, but that appointed candidates from each of these groups serve very different roles in Parliament. We find a strong link between nomination method and subsequent legislative roles and activities: parachuted candidates are much more likely to serve in high-profile legislative positions while locally nominated candidates are more likely to engage in low-profile legislative activities. The process by which candidates come to stand for election, we argue, directly affects the nature of representation by Members of Parliament in the legislature, and has implications for the study of candidate nomination and legislative roles in parties in other democracies.The methods used to nominate candidates are important indicators of the distribution of power within political parties. As Schattschneider (1942: 101) argues, "the nominating process has become the crucial process of the party. He who can make the nominations is the owner of the party." From a comparative perspective, the candidate nomination processes of Canadian parties are very decentralized, with party constituency associations allowing local members to select prospective candidates (Rahat, 2007: 163). While the local nomination race is normal practice, there is an alternate path to Parliament for MPs: appointment to the party nomination by the

We provide the first wide-scale analysis of the factors that influence voter turnout in Canadian local elections. Drawing on original data from 300 municipal elections conducted from 2004 to 2014, we use ordinary least squares regression with panel-corrected standard errors for time series cross-sections to test explanatory hypotheses related to differences in institutional design, the social-spatial context of these elections, and local competitiveness. Our results show that, although institutional and sociospatial factors influence local turnout, the competitiveness of elections exercises the greatest influence on local electoral participation.

L'étude des organisations locales des partis politiques canadiens tend à négliger le leadership de ces petites organisations, soit les comités exécutifs de comté. Cet article explore le sujet et établit une classification de ces comités. La conduite d'entrevues et une observation participative au sein des associations de circonscription du Parti libéral révèlent que les comités exécutifs diffèrent dans leur gestion des ressources humaines, leurs relations internes, leur organisation, leur leadership et leur perméabilité. Les résultats de ces analyses permettent de dégager deux types de comité exécutif de comté, soit le type social et le type professionnel. Des analyses préliminaires permettent aussi de suggérer que des facteurs politiques -la force du parti dans la circonscription et la présence d'un élu au Parlement -jouent un rôle crucial dans la formation d'un comité exécutif de type professionnel.