All posts by Richard Pildes

“Nationalizing her governor run? ‘You bet I am,’ Sanders says”

September 27, 2021, 5:15 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Associated Press: “Sanders’ celebrity as former President Donald Trump’s spokesperson granted her immediate front-runner status in one of the nation’s most Trump-friendly states. It’s also transforming politics in a place where voters in state races are used to hearing… Continue reading

“Youngkin waffles on Jan. 6 certification”

September 27, 2021, 4:58 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

From Axios AM: In an interview with Axios’ Sarah Mucha, Glenn Youngkin — the Virginia Republican in a dogfight with Terry McAuliffe in the Nov. 2 governor’s election — wouldn’t say whether he would have voted to certify the election… Continue reading

Experts on Flaws in Assumptions Made in the AZ “Audit” Report

September 27, 2021, 4:55 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

From The Morning Dispatch (requires a subscription) Having failed to deliver a Trump win on the recount, the audit’s organizers are moving the goalposts. Experts say their methodology is faulty.The report claims that “mail-in ballots were cast under voter registration… Continue reading

“The Real Trouble With the Sprawling Reconciliation Bill”

September 25, 2021, 4:04 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Paul Starr in the American Prospect: The individual elements in the reconciliation bill poll well, but you have to follow politics closely to know precisely what’s in it. There’s no single policy or idea at its center, no clear… Continue reading

The Independent State Legislature Doctrine

September 16, 2021, 12:17 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Hayward Smith has posted this detailed article on the independent state legislature doctrine, which also responds to arguments defending certain versions of the doctrine. Back in 2001, when Hayward was a student of mine at NYU, he published a law… Continue reading

NY Lost One Seat in Congress Due to Covid-Related Deaths

August 30, 2021, 7:27 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

That’s the conclusion of this new article by Bernie Grofman and Jonathan Cervas. From the abstract: It is well understood that even small differences in population can have a disproportionate impact on representation in the U.S. House of Representatives after… Continue reading

If Senators Had Two-Year Terms, How Would the Vote on the Infrastructure Bill Have Come Out?

August 12, 2021, 11:22 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

In my recent NYT piece I noted how the unique and exceptionally short two-year term for members of the House, combined with the prospect of primary elections, dramatically shapes American politics. In that light, it’s noteworthy how differently Republican Senators… Continue reading

Could CO’s Redistricting Commission Create a More Competitive Map?

August 6, 2021, 9:06 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

I’ve been emphasizing the value of competitive districts in potentially making Congress less polarized and more effective. In earlier posts, I’ve explained how Dave’s Redistricting App (DRA) can be used to judge maps along a number of dimensions. I… Continue reading

The Significance of the Ninth Circuit’s Decision on Alaska’s Campaign Finance Laws

August 2, 2021, 10:39 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

I want to flag a couple significant aspects to the important 2-1 Ninth Circuit decision in Thompson v. Hebdon that Derek blogged about here. The Alaska laws at issue had been adopted in 2006 through a ballot measure that passed… Continue reading

“Big problems with small money? Republicans catch up to Democrats in online giving”

August 2, 2021, 10:09 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

From Alex Seitz-Wald and Ben Kamisar at NBC News: Republicans are beginning to catch up with Democrats in online fundraising, creating for the first time in modern history a political landscape where both parties are largely funded by… Continue reading

2021 Supplement to The Law of Democracy Now Available

August 2, 2021, 6:22 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The 2021 Supplement is now available at this link at Foundation Press. A few things happened regarding the law of democracy over the past year, all of which are covered in the 2021 Supplement — including major new sections on… Continue reading

Competitive Districts Part II: Colorado’s Independent Redistricting Commission

July 26, 2021, 11:00 amredistricting, UncategorizedRichard Pildes

Now that I’ve described in Part I how DRA enables assessing a map’s competitiveness, along with other dimensions, I’ll lay out how DRA makes it possible to compare different maps. To do that, I’ll compare the preliminary map for the… Continue reading

Designing Competitive Redistricting Maps: Part I

July 26, 2021, 6:07 amredistricting, UncategorizedRichard Pildes

Colorado’s congressional districts are being drawn by an independent redistricting commission created in 2018 by “Amendment Y,” a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that voters approved. That amendment also specifies the criteria the commission is to use. After specifying that districts… Continue reading

As House Hearings Begin on the Risk of Electoral Subversion, Here’s One Major Issue to Address

July 25, 2021, 10:56 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

On Wednesday, the House will hold hearings to address the risk of electoral subversion. In light of that, I’m re-upping this NYT piece of mine, titled “There’s Still a Loaded Weapon Lying Around in Our Election System.” The piece identifies… Continue reading