Important Alaska Case on Top-4 Primary, Ranked-Choice Voting To be Argued Jan. 18th
The case is pending before the Supreme Court of Alaska.
All posts by Richard Pildes
Choosing Nomination Processes That Lead Parties to Their Most Competitive Candidates
One of the most important ways to combat the extremism in our current politics is through institutional changes in the way candidates are able to make it to the general election. The goal should be to make it likely that… Continue reading
“Republicans Should Help Reform the Electoral Count Act “
Reform of the Electoral Count Act is one of the most important things Congress can do to reduce the risk of electoral subversion of the 2024 presidential election. Along with other election law experts, I’ve been urging reform of the… Continue reading
“Biden Justice Department Voting Rights Strategy Comes Into Focus”
From Steve Rosenfeld, for Voting Booth:
In November, the DOJ sued Texas after the adoption of 2021’s Senate Bill 1, which restricted voting options for people with disabilities—which also clashed with the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The new Texas… Continue reading
Has VA Created a New Model for A Reasonably Non-Partisan Redistricting Process?
It is worth paying attention to how the redistricting process appears to be playing out as it reaches the final stages in Virginia. Though the process was to some extent ad hoc, with the state supreme court creating a mechanism… Continue reading
The Constitutional Challenge to Alaska’s Major Political Reforms
In what some have described as “the biggest win yet for political reform,” voters in Alaska in the 2020 elections adopted a ballot measure that replaced partisan primaries with a “top-four” primary election and ranked choice voting in… Continue reading
“Biden’s Supreme Court commission endorses final report noting bipartisan public support for term limits”
President Biden’s Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States voted today to submit its final report to the President. I am honored to have served on the Commission, which also included a number of academics and others who… Continue reading
Keynote Address on “Fragmented Democracies”
I’ll be delivering this address later today at the 12th Annual Loyola Constitutional Law Colloquium. The address is based on my recent article entitled Political Fragmentation in the Democracies of the West.
The FEC Wrongly Blames Citizens United For Increases in Federal Election Spending
Rick Hasen links to the new FEC report on federal election spending over time. In addition to reporting the data, the FEC says spending has increased dramatically over time, “particularly after the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.” Spending has… Continue reading
“21 municipalities debuted ranked choice voting programs — how did it go?”
From the Desert News:
Ranked choice voting made its debut across 21 Utah municipalities Tuesday. And while the results are still preliminary, we’re starting to gauge how Utah clerks, voters and candidates feel about the system that’s been touted as… Continue reading
Conflicts Between Politicians who Draw Districts and Secretaries of State who have to Administer Elections
This story out of Mass. highlights the problems that can arise when legislators split election precincts to pursue their own ends in redistricting. From MassLive:
New political boundaries for the Massachusetts House and Senate became official Thursday as Gov.… Continue reading
“How ranked-choice voting saved the Virginia GOP from itself”
Terrific WP piece by Ray LaRaja and Alexander Theodoridis on how the VA GOP found its way to a more electable nominee for governor through the use of ranked-choice voting. The story does not highlight this additional fact: party leaders… Continue reading
DOJ’s Suit Against TX’s Voting Law is Narrower Than You Might Think
Texas attracted national attention for a variety of changes it made to its voting policies. The new state law banned two practices that Houston had used for the first time during the pandemic election: 24 hour voting and drive-thru voting.… Continue reading
“An Election Board that Operates Like a Mafia Without the Guns”
Any guesses as to what election board this refers to??
It’s the NYC Election Board, as lovingly described by the New York Times. Here’s more of the Times disemboweling of the Board:
If you built a laboratory solely to… Continue reading