Stanford University has released one of the most detailed reports thus far, involving work by numerous experts in cybersecurity and digital communications, about what the U.S. needs to do to ensure the security of American elections. Some of the major… Continue reading
Lots of interesting and perhaps surprising information at the OpenSecrets.org site on the occupation of the “groups” that gave the largest contributions in the 2018 congressional election cycle. A couple points that stood out to me:
Those who list their… Continue reading
I found it noteworthy that when Stacey Abrams was asked in her NY Times interview whether polarization was an “irreconcilable” problem, her immediate answer was to talk about the end of earmarks. I have written many times (e.g., here)… Continue reading
The Mueller report makes one legal judgment, in particular, that I find extremely puzzling. I think this judgment is going to cause endless confusion in the public and political debate about the report, and indeed, is doing so already. I… Continue reading
Over at the Balkinization blog, I have a post with historical perspective on emerging debates among some Democrats over whether, if they have the political power to do so after 2020, they ought to increase the size of the Supreme… Continue reading
From Brendan Nyhan, at Medium:
For anyone concerned about democratic norms and the rule of law, the 2016 election offered a clear lesson: Parties need to exercise more control over candidate selection. In this era of high partisanship, the official… Continue reading
At oral arguments in yesterday’s partisan gerrymandering cases, several Justices raised questions about whether partisan-gerrymandering challenges implicitly appeal in one way or another to a baseline of proportional representation (PR). This is an idea introduced by Justice O’Connor in her… Continue reading
On this subject, I have a new essay, along with others writing on the same theme, published in the current edition of The American Prospect. Here’s an excerpt on one issue I think has not received enough critical discussion: … Continue reading
As readers of this blog know, I’m no fan of how far the radical changes that were made in the 1970s to the presidential nominations process went in eliminating any special weight that elected party officials, from throughout the country,… Continue reading
The Harvard Law Review blog is running a Symposium on legal issues related to the 2018 election. Here’s my contribution, which analyzes the different measures on the ballot to change the redistricting process in Utah, Missouri, Michigan, and Colorado. … Continue reading
I’m often asked why it makes any difference whether election districts keep towns and counties together, or are reasonably compact. This amusing op-ed, from the Democratic candidate running for a New York Assembly district that contains pieces of seven… Continue reading
That’s the title the Washington Post gave this op-ed that Jonathan Rodden and I published today. Here is an excerpt:
Democrats have engaged in a passionate debate leading into the midterms on Nov 6. “Progressives” argue that the path to… Continue reading
At the Lawfare blog, Jessica Marsden has a report on the recent decision of the federal district court in Georgia concerning whether insufficiently secure voting machines, which are prone to hacking, might violate the constitutional right to vote. Here… Continue reading