The Council of State Governments web site should prove to be especially useful, as it combines institutions and policy information . The Book of the States, published annually, is also a rich source. It also has a State Data performance feature that allows trend comparisons among up to three states. A link to this site: http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/state-data
I have organized the questions/topics by chapter, and you are encouraged to research and write portions of your paper.
Chapter 1. Politics in States and Communities
1. Research the socio-demographic profile of your state. Look at its population, income, education, major economic industries, etc. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
2. Find background on the state’s political history, and political culture.
3. You may also want to provide details about its types and numbers of local governments (e.g. counties).
Chapter 2. Democracy and Constitutionalism in the State
1. Does the state constitution contain a Bill of Rights? How does it differ from the US Bill of Rights?
2. Which kinds of state constitution amendment processes are available? What types of processes have been used in your state? What is the state’s amendment history? How many constitutions has the state used?
3. Does the state employ any direct democracy devices?
4. Does your state have term limits? If so, what are the issues with these? If not, are there efforts underway to adopt them?
Chapter 3. States, Communities, and American Federalism
1. Are unfunded mandates an issue in your state? Are states concerned about unfunded federal mandates? Are local governments concerned about unfunded federal AND state mandates on local units?
2. How much of your state’s revenues come from the federal government? Using the Census Bureau’s State and Local Government Finance website (Table 1. State and Local Government Finances by level of Government and by State: 2013-2014), will help you identify the amount of Intergovernmental Revenue from the Federal Government to your state’s State and Local Governments. Be sure to calculate any federal aid as a percentage of total State and Local Government revenue (to make comparisons across states easier).
3. To which interstate compacts does your state belong? Are any of these regional in scope? How does membership in these compacts advance the state’s interests?
Chapter 4. Participation in State Politics
1. What are the trends in voter turnout in presidential and congressional/off year elections? Is voter ID an issue in your state?
2. What interest groups are active in state politics? Which groups have registered lobbyists in your state? Note that dominant interest groups are often connected to key state economic interests. Which groups appear to be dominant in your state?
Chapter 5. Parties and Campaigns in the States
1. What is the political party strength in your state legislature?
2. What is the state’s primary nomination process? Who is allowed to vote?
3. Are third party or independent candidate activities evident in your state’s elections? Are they considered important in the state’s experiences (e.g. won office, or acted as spoilers by splintering the vote for the major party)?
4. What is the role of money in your state’s gubernatorial elections?
5. https://www.followthemoney.org/
Chapter 6. Legislators in State Politics
1. Using the National Council of State Legislatures’ website (www.ncsl.org), gather information on the state legislature’s:
a. Partisan composition in 2017;
b. Change in partisan composition between 2009 and 2017;
c. Chamber sizes
d. Professionalism
e. Staffing
2. Using the same source, examine redistricting in your state. How are district boundaries redrawn? Does it use a redistricting commission? Are there redistricting controversies in your state?
3. Does your state employ term limits? Is this an issue in your state? Are there other proposed reforms of the legislature circulating in your state?
Chapter 7. Governors in State Politics
1. Using the National Governors Association website (www.nga.org), examine the political careers of two or three former governors of your state. Identify the “career ladder” of these governors by examining the appointive/elective offices they held prior to their gubernatorial election.
2. Does the governor share executive powers with other elected constitutional officers (e.g. elected treasurer, secretary of state, etc.)?
3. Using the present governor’s state of the state addresses, what are their policy preferences?
4. Using Governing.com, search for your state’s governor (and/or recent governors), and identify their current (or recent) political situation, popularity, etc. Use other sources (news, polling results, etc.) as needed to identify it.
Chapter 8. Bureaucratic Politics in States and Communities
1. Look at the Governor’s proposed budget. What are the governor’s policy priorities for state government?
2. Is privatization of state services (e.g. corrections) an issue in your state?
3. What is the size of the state bureaucracy in terms of a) number of employees, aka full-time equivalents; and b) personnel spending as proportion of the budget?
4. What are some current issues with state administrative services?
Chapter 9. Courts, Crime, and Correctional Policy
1. How are judges selected in your state? Are their issues with these selection processes?
2. How busy is the court system within your state?
3. Is the death penalty in use? Are there issues with the state’s use of the death penalty?
4. What are some current issues in the state’s law enforcement community?
https://www.bjs.gov/
Look under courts – State courts, and state court caseload statistics
http://www.courtstatistics.org/
http://www.courtstatistics.org/Other-Pages/State_Court_Structure_Charts.aspx
Search: the council of state governments justice center
State crime statistics FBI Uniform Crime Report
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/table-5
Search: Judicial Selection in the States
http://www.judicialselection.us/
