Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy

Top Research Topics at Election Law Journal?

Election Law Journal facilitates discussions on Law, Politics, Supreme court, Voting and Campaign finance. Research on Law presented in it focuses, in particular, on Democracy, State (polity), Legislature, Election law and Redistricting. Research on Redistricting addressed in Election Law Journal frequently intersections with the field of Gerrymandering.

Political economy, Jurisprudence, Public administration, Law and economics and Corruption are some topics wherein Politics research discussed in it have an impact. The in-depth study on Public administration also explores topics in the intersecting field of Administration (government). Supreme court research is the primary subject tackled in Election Law Journal with a focus on Constitutionality.

The journal connects research in Voting with the related topic of General election. It explores topics in Campaign finance which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Reform Act and Government.

• Law (50.12%)
• Politics (27.71%)
• Supreme court (16.87%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• The Incumbency Advantage in U.S. Elections: An Analysis of State and Federal Offices, 1942–2000 (255 citations)
• The Future of Partisan Symmetry as a Judicial Test for Partisan Gerrymandering after LULAC v. Perry (78 citations)
• Campaign Finance Laws and Political Efficacy: Evidence from the States (69 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Election Law Journal:

The most cited articles mainly tackle studies in Law, Voting, Redistricting, Gerrymandering and Politics. The published articles aim to investigate interdisciplinary topics such as Law and Hard money. The most cited articles with studies in Redistricting featured incorporate elements of Minority status and Political economy.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• Law
• Politics
• Democracy

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The topics of Voting, Democratic theory, Legislation, Early voting and Accidental are the focal point of discussions in Election Law Journal. Studies on Voting discussed in it link to the field of Virology. The journal explores issues in Democratic theory which can be linked to other research areas like Political economy and Law and economics.

Issues in Legislation were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Dissemination, General election, Electronic voting and Freedom of expression. Early voting study tackled is connected to the field of Internet privacy.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Islands in the Storm? Responses to Foreign Electoral Interference in Australia and New Zealand (1 citations)
• Examining the Effects of Convenience Voting on Accidental Invalidity (0 citations)
• The French Legislation against Digital Information Manipulation in Electoral Campaigns: A Scope Limited by Freedom of Expression (0 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Election Law Journal (based on the number of publications) are:

• Richard L. Hasen (11 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• Robert F. Bauer (6 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Graeme Orr (6 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• Andrew Geddis (5 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• Stephen Ansolabehere (5 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Election Law Journal (based on the number of publications) are:

• University of Chicago (4 papers) absent at the last edition,
• University of Queensland (2 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• Brooklyn Law School (2 papers) absent at the last edition,
• University of California, Berkeley (2 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Yale University (2 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 25.00% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 33.33% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 66.67% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 0.00% of all publications and 0.00% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Transition from Academic Research to Career Prospects

Having a comprehensive understanding of complex subjects such as Election Law, Politics, Supreme court research, Voting, and Campaign finance can lead to exciting career prospects, including opportunities in academia, government offices, or private organizations. This pathway often leads individuals to become librarians, research analysts, or policy advisors, among other roles. These professionals have a direct impact on the interpretation and implementation of democratic practices.

For instance, if a researcher in the state of Indiana aspires to transition to a more practical role, they might wish to consider becoming a school librarian. School librarians often engage with legal research materials, especially in relation to the public administration sector. In a more specialized role like this, professionals can directly apply insights from Election Law research to inform their work in academic settings, providing vital resources for teachers and students.

To those who are interested, here is a handy guide on how to be a school librarian in Indiana. Individuals in such roles can blend their interest in Election Law research with practical applications, imparting knowledge, and aiding tomorrow's Democratic leaders.