Category Archives: political parties

Today’s Must-Read: “How Party Bosses, Not Voters, Pick Politicians in New York”

September 18, 2017, 8:18 ampolitical partiesRick Hasen

Great Shane Goldmacher in the NYT: For decades, New York seats have traded hands this way in what amounts to one of the last, most powerful vestiges of Tammany Hall-style politics in the state. Election laws here grant politicians… Continue reading

Utah: “Gov. Herbert wishes GOP would drop lawsuit challenging new election law”

September 14, 2017, 7:36 pmpolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Salt Lake Tribune: Gov. Gary Herbert wished aloud Thursday that the Utah Republican Party would drop its lawsuit challenging the state’s new election law, which is driving a wedge between the party’s right wing and moderates. But he concedes that… Continue reading

“We need political parties. But their rabid partisanship could destroy American democracy.”

September 5, 2017, 8:09 ampolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Lee Drutman for Vox.

Today’s Must-Read: “A judge, a Vegas phone call and the NC GOP legislative effort to remake the judicial branch”

August 23, 2017, 7:13 amjudicial elections, political partiesRick Hasen

Anne Blythe’s News and Observer piece begins: Doug McCullough was five months away from his deadline for mandatory retirement from the state Court of Appeals bench when the chairman of the state Republican Party gave him a call. Democrat… Continue reading

“Networking the Party: First Amendment Rights & the Pursuit of Responsive Party Government”

August 16, 2017, 9:02 amcampaign finance, political parties, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Tabatha Abu El-Haj has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article argues that the Supreme Court’s party jurisprudence is predicated on a set of theoretical assumptions that do not hold true in the real world of… Continue reading

The End of the Blue Slip Looks Like It’s Coming for Circuit Court Nominees

August 11, 2017, 8:01 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

This is expected, and it will mean a big shift in the courts to the right.

“Why American Democracy Is Broken, and How to Fix It”

July 30, 2017, 12:23 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Jeet Heer in TNR: Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, wondered in a 2013 article whether this called for drastic measures: “The partisanship of our political branches and the mismatch with our structure of government raise… Continue reading

New CFI Report: Unlimited Party Contributions Don’t Help Ease Polarization

June 27, 2017, 7:44 amcampaign finance, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Release: (my emphasis) The Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) today is releasing a new study entitled Party Contribution Limits and Polarization. The study refutes one of the policy solutions put forward in recent years for a problem that almost everyone… Continue reading

“Has the Top Two Primary Elected More Moderates?”

June 23, 2017, 11:22 ampolitical parties, political polarization, primaries, redistrictingRick Hasen

Eric (“Efficiency Gap”) McGhee and Boris Shor have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Party polarization is perhaps the most significant political trend of the past several decades of American politics. Many observers have pinned hopes on… Continue reading

Partisan Gerrymandering Case Status

May 22, 2017, 2:00 pmpolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The Court’s decision this morning in the North Carolina redistricting case addressed allegations of predominant and unjustified racial intent. The state attempted to defend its actions, in part, by saying that it was just acting for partisan reasons. The legal… Continue reading

Breaking: #SCOTUS Declines Soft Money Case; Thomas and Gorsuch Would Vote to Hear

May 22, 2017, 6:32 amcampaign finance, political parties, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Today’s order list contains this summary disposition: 16-865 REPUBLICAN PARTY OF LA, ET AL. V. FEC The judgment is affirmed. Justice Thomas and Justice Gorsuch would note probable jurisdiction and set the case for oral argument. This is a surprise… Continue reading

Bauer on Supreme Court Cert. Denial of Hawaii Open Primary Case

May 17, 2017, 7:43 ampolitical parties, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Here.

Supreme Court, Without Noted Dissent, Rejects Challenge to Hawaii’s Open Primary Law

May 15, 2017, 6:53 ampolitical partiesRick Hasen

No noted dissents. Back in August 2016, when the 9th Circuit decided the case, I questioned whether the case was properly decided and if it changed the standard for considering how a party can object to the form of… Continue reading

“The Chosen One: Thoughts on a Better, Fairer, and Smarter Way to Choose Presidential Nominees”

April 27, 2017, 10:36 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Brennan Center: Although the 2016 presidential primaries garnered profound dissatisfaction with the nomination process, leading to widespread accusations of unfairness within both parties, most voters will forget our current system’s issues until the 2020 election. But in a new paper,… Continue reading