A discussion focusing on how the outcome of the 1992 presidential election may affect the composition and decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court will be held at noon Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the University of California, Davis. The event, free and open to the public, is the first in a series of seminars to be sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Affairs (IGA) this fall on the November national and California elections. The presentation, titled "The Supreme Court and the Election," will be held in the reading room of the IGA, located on the third floor of Shields Library. It will feature the views of John Gates, a professor of political science at UC Davis, and Gary Goodpaster, a professor of law at UC Davis. Gates and Goodpaster will talk about possible vacancies that may occur on the court in the next presidential term, as well as issues that the court could address during that period, such as abortion, school prayer, First Amendment rights, federal review of state criminal cases and the enhancement of executive power at the expense of citizens and the Congress. They also will discuss how legal issues can shape the views of voters. Listed below are the other seminars in the series. • "The California Election," noon Friday, Oct. 9, in the IGA reading room. Dan Walters and Nancy Weaver, a political columnist and a reporter, respectively, for the Sacramento Bee, will provide an overview of the California election and analyze specific legislative issues, such as an initiative dealing with the welfare system. • "Political Psychology and Presidential Elections," noon Thursday, Oct. 15, in the IGA reading room. Dean Simonton, a UC Davis professor of psychology, has devised a formula for predicting how history will rate American presidents. He also will talk about how voters have viewed presidents in the past, and how their perceptions affected election results. • "Bush or Clinton: What Lies Ahead?" 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, in 194 Chemistry. A panel will discuss the implications of the next administration being headed by either President George Bush or Democratic nominee Bill Clinton. The panel will consist of Larry Berman, chair and professor of political science at UC Davis; Ed Costantini, professor of political science at UC Davis; Tom Hazlett, professor of agricultural economics at UC Davis; Steven Sheffrin, professor of economics at UC Davis; and Judith Stacey, professor of sociology at UC Davis. The discussion will be moderated by Alan Olmstead, IGA director. • "The Election in Review," noon Wednesday , Nov. 11 (tentative), in the IGA reading room. The final installment of the series will be a review of the election, featuring Berman and possibly other speakers to be named later.