Now that we’re well into summer, I think it’s time to announce here FSU’s polisci dept’s hiring last year. (I meant to do at the end of the year but forgot.) First up, James Gibson, previously of WashU, will be joining us in the fall as the Regent’s Research Professor. This is a huge coup for us.

One year ago today, Mexican voters went to the polls as part of the most ambitious judicial reforms in modern democratic history: the direct election of judges across the federal judiciary.

From TOMORROW (19th of May 2026) all articles accepted for publication in the Journal of Law and Courts will be #OpenAccess. Find out more here - https://cup.org/4snLLp9 We have an OA option for every author.

Stolen Representation by Michael P. Olson This book uses a tremendous amount of new historical data to illuminate how voting rights shape legislative representation. 📚 https://cup.org/4tt9W6u

Not sure whether this is apt or terrible timing but here’s the official cover of my book due out with @uncpress.bsky.social W. Hodding Carter III imprint this fall. 🎉

See also this article with @mjnelson.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Elisha Brown@elishabrown.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A new study shows applications to medical residency programs in states with abortion bans declined across the board after Dobbs. I spoke with OB-GYNs about what it was like training in Kentucky and Texas and whether that informs where they practice medicine. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/repr...

Just published my analysis of spending in the 2024 state supreme court election cycle. At $157 million, this was the most expensive cycle ever for judicial races…by a lot. Including in states where judicial elections probably weren’t on your radar.

The Politics of Judicial Elections 2023-24

Spending hit new highs, fueled largely by interest groups and battles over abortion rights.

brennancenter.org

If you are interested in the U.S. Supreme Court, but have never seen the justices in action, onthedocket.org provides a step in the right direction. We combine authentic audio with AI-generated video to show you the justices announcing opinions in some of the highest profile cases they decide!

On The Docket - Experience the Supreme Court Like Never Before

We transform audio recordings into compelling video narratives using AI technology.

onthedocket.org

Come work at Stanford! I'm hiring a post-doc who will work with me on projects about prosecutors and trial courts in the US. Feel free to contact me with any questions, or apply here: hoover.smapply.us/prog/postdoc...

As rights protections across the states diverge people may relocate to pursue more rights. @mjnelson.bsky.social and I find abortion rights spur moves and this very interesting report shows that attacks on LGBT rights are also interstate spurring migration. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Abortion Bans and Interstate Migration - Michael J. Nelson, Christopher Witko, 2025

The Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling created a patchwork of abortion regulations across the U.S. Proponents of federalism argue that the easy exit option federalism...

journals.sagepub.com

Alfred Twu@alfredtwu.com · 7mo ago

New research confirms what many of us see: there's a large internal migration of LGBTQ people in the US, especially trans people, to friendlier states & cities. Since 11/2024, 9% of all trans people have moved to another state, 43% have considered moving. www.mapresearch.org/2025-norc-su...

Reviewing fast or slow: A theory of summary reversal in the judicial hierarchy by Alexander V. Hirsch, Jonathan P. Kastellec, and Anthony R. Taboni is now available in Early View. @jkastellec.bsky.social @anthonytaboni.bsky.social ajps.org/2026/01/09/r...

Just in time for your State Politics grad seminar, Berkman, Herlihy and I have some data on the development of the State Politics subfield (and SPPQ) over the past 65 years!

Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR@cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 7mo ago

#OpenAccess from State Politics & Policy Quarterly - SPPQ and the Development of the State Politics Subfield - https://cup.org/4bqcCM7 - Michael B. Berkman, Morrgan T. Herlihy & @mjnelson.bsky.social #FirstView

🚨 the best state policy & public opinion database is now online. ~200 (!!!) state policies and 80 public opinion series on abortion, labor, taxes, environment, guns, education… dynamicdemocracy.shinyapps.io Massive public goods provision from @devincaughey.bsky.social & @chriswarshaw.bsky.social

I’m hiring a predoctoral fellow for the 2026-2027 AY with possibility of a second year. This is a great position for someone interested in pursuing a Ph.D. or who wants more hands-on experience doing research. Please apply/share! Happy to answer questions! tobin.yale.edu/opportunitie...

Penn State published a nice article on my recent book with Amanda Driscoll and Jay Krehbiel about the public's support for the rule of law and why it matters: www.psu.edu/news/liberal...

Professor’s new book examines public perceptions of independent courts | Penn State University

Michael J. Nelson, professor and head of the Department of Political Science in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, is the co-author of the new book, “The Efficacy of Judicial Review: The Rule o...

psu.edu

Doctors are less likely to want a residency in states with abortion bans per research with @mjnelson.bsky.social Studies we cite shows high achieving women don’t want to go to college in states with bans. It goes beyond bans of course. Brain drain is real. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Laura Belin@laurarbelin.bsky.social · 8mo ago

During the legislative session I listened to a bunch of committee or floor discussions on proposals to address the physician shortage. Several Democrats pointed out that doctors don't want to work in states that interfere with best practices, coddle anti-vax propaganda, etc.

A new article with @mjnelson.bsky.social in PRQ, using a conjoint, CPS ASES and medical residency application data, finds that abortion bans make states less desirable places to live for young women, college graduates and doctors. This law is more extreme. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Abortion Bans and Interstate Migration - Michael J. Nelson, Christopher Witko, 2025

The Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling created a patchwork of abortion regulations across the U.S. Proponents of federalism argue that the easy exit option federalism...

journals.sagepub.com

Mississippi Free Press@mississippifreepress.org · 9mo ago

Women who get an abortion and anyone who helps them could face up to 30 years in prison under the bill. It appears to ban any contraception that prevents a fertilized egg from implanting. That would ban IUDs and could strictly limit in-vitro fertilization.

Friends, my article w/ @silje-hermansen.bsky.social and @louisabo.bsky.social on how/why the "have nots" come out ahead in litigation @eucourtofjustice.bsky.social is out in @bjpols.bsky.social! We propose a theory of judicial leveling & spotlighting to explain these contrarian results: take a look!

British Journal of Political Science@bjpols.bsky.social · 9mo ago

NEW - Leveling and Spotlighting: How the European Court of Justice Favors the Weak to Promote Its Legitimacy - https://cup.org/4oWD6ZT - @silje-hermansen.bsky.social, @tommasopavone.bsky.social & @louisabo.bsky.social #OpenAccess

Penn State Political Science is launching a new Semester in Washington program and we’re hiring a full-time on-site coordinator for the program, based permanently in Washington, D.C.

SPPC 2026 will be held in Chicago and has a website: www.luc.edu/politicalsci.... Hope to see you there!

NEW - Trust in the Judiciary and Partisan Reactions to Judicial Checks: Evidence from Argentina - https://cup.org/42BRe1j "judicial checks expose citizens to information that is primarily instrumental" - Martín Gandur #FirstView

#OpenAccess from @apsrjournal.bsky.social - The Path of Law: Legal Uncertainty and Issues of First Impression in the U.S. Courts of Appeals - https://cup.org/42XsrF0 - @anthonytaboni.bsky.social #FirstView

Taught intro to hypothesis testing today in undergrad stats for the first time in a while and this activity is undefeated for giving the intuition for hypothesis testing: jse.amstat.org/v2n1/eckert..... Plus you can do it as a magic trick which makes it fun.

Taught intro to hypothesis testing today in undergrad stats for the first time in a while and this activity is undefeated for giving the intuition for hypothesis testing: jse.amstat.org/v2n1/eckert..... Plus you can do it as a magic trick which makes it fun.

colleagues in political science. the formal update to the Garand and Giles journal ranking survey is now live. many of you will receive an email momentarily inviting you to participate. in the event you do NOT receive an invitation, please see this website to self-enroll. thanks! sharing = caring!

Participating

The Evaluation of Publication in Political Research study is open to serious producers and consumers of political research, including faculty in institutions of higher education, doctoral students,…

eppr.study

More than you've ever wanted to know about the consequences executives face for defying courts, available for 20% off with discount code TEJR2025 at www.cambridge.org/core/books/e...!

The Efficacy of Judicial Review

Cambridge Core - Constitutional and Administrative Law - The Efficacy of Judicial Review

cambridge.org

Joel Sievert@jsievert.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Came to watch a presentation and it came with a book plug. Well played, @mjnelson.bsky.social. Well played!

JOB: psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...

Assistant Professor, Political Science

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

Penn State is searching at the Assistant Professor level in in American political behavior, broadly defined. We are seekign someone who can offer undergraduate and graduate courses in political methodology or social data analytics.

Assistant Professor, Political Science

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

Penn State is searching in Comparative Politics or International Relations for someone with a focus on non-democratic politics who can offer undergraduate and graduate courses in political methodology.

Assistant Professor, Political Science

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

📢 @davidkosar.bsky.social & Patrick Leisure introduce the concept of judicial overstay ⚖️ and argue that we should pay more attention to this transnational phenomenon 🌍. 📖 Read their new article on the IACL blog ✍️📰 🔗 blog-iacl-aidc.org/2025-posts/2...