About the Authors

Valentina A. Bali is an assistant professor of political science at Michigan State University. Her research has focused on education policy, state politics, and election administration reform and elections.

Nelson C. Dometrius is a professor of political science at Texas Tech University. His research interests include state politics, political institutions, and methodology. His prior research has appeared in such journals as American Journal of Political Science, American Politics Quarterly, Journal of Politics, Public Administration Review, Social Science Quarterly, and State Politics and Policy Quarterly.

Erik J. Engstrom is an assistant professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His current research focuses on the politics of congressional redistricting in the 19th century and early 20th century and the impact of state electoral laws on congressional elections.

Terri Susan Fine is an associate professor of political science at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Her research interests focus on American political participation with an emphasis on public opinion, political parties, and voting behavior. Her work has appeared in such journals as Polity, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Women and Politics, Perspectives on Political Science, White House Studies, and American Politics Quarterly.

Keith E. Hamm has written widely on the politics of state legislatures. His recent book, co-authored with Peverill Squire, is entitled 101 Chambers: Congress, State Legislatures and the Future of Legislative Studies (Ohio State University Press, 2005). The National Science Foundation and the Canadian Studies Grant Association are funding his current research on the influence of campaign finance laws in state legislative elections. His most recent articles have appeared in British Journal of Political Science and Journal of Legislative Studies.

Ronald D. Hedlund is a professor of political science at Northeastern University in Boston and the author of numerous books, articles, and professional papers on state legislatures. His areas of research have included the development of public support for state legislatures, the evolution of organizational structure in legislative bodies, and the role of committees in the legislative process. His current research is on the role committees play in the development of policy specialization in state legislatures and the impact of specialization on the professionalization of the legislative process.

Nancy Martorano is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Dayton with interests in the state legislative process, political parties, interest groups, and urban politics. She co-authored a study of state legislative procedures with Keith Hamm and Ronald Hedlund that was published in the Journal of Legislative Studies. Her work has also appeared in previous issues of this journal, American Review of Politics, and Legislative Studies Quarterly.

Marsha Matson is a lecturer at the University of Miami. Her teaching interests include American politics and government, women and politics, campaigns, and local government. Her research focuses on women in politics and municipal incorporation. Dr. Matson has been a frequent consultant to and organizer of political campaigns in Florida and other southern states.

Nathan W. Monroe is an assistant professor of political science at Michigan State University. His current research focuses on partisan agenda control in the United States House and Senate, the strategic behavior of candidates for election, and the institutional development of legislatures.

Joshua Ozymy is an assistant professor of political science in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Sul Ross State University. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University in 2005, writing his dissertation on the dimensions of trust and engagement related to civic group membership in the United States.

Brian D. Silver is a professor of political science at Michigan State University, where he also directs the State of the State Survey. A specialist on comparative politics, his research has focused on ethnic differences in political attitudes and behavior. His current major project concerns American public opinion in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.