Category Archives: political parties

“The Real Problem With the Democrats’ Ground Game”

June 10, 2025, 7:13 amcampaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

Russell Berman in The Atlantic: They called it the “Big Send.” Democrats gathered in living rooms, libraries, and coffee shops across the country to write letters to millions of potential voters in swing states and competitive congressional districts, urging them to… Continue reading

“CNN Poll: A record share of Americans want the government to get more done. Few trust either party to do it”

June 2, 2025, 8:09 ampolitical parties, political polarizationDerek Muller

Sobering polling as detailed by Ariel Edwards-Levy.

“Why stricter voting laws no longer help Republicans”

June 1, 2025, 9:15 amelection administration, political parties, The Voting Wars, voter registrationvoter turnoutJustin Levitt

The Economist, making my point from yesterday.

“Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare Speaks on Redistricting Effort, Partisanship Claims”

May 31, 2025, 11:09 amelection law and constitutional law, political parties, redistrictinglocal redistricting, partisan gerrymanderJustin Levitt

A coming vote on new mid-decade maps for Tarrant County, Texas (where Ft. Worth is the county seat) has been quite controversial, with charges of racial and partisan impropriety, and likely litigation on the horizon. County Judge Tim O’Hare has… Continue reading

“Fuzzy Math: Several House districts could be redrawn before 2026 elections”

May 30, 2025, 11:10 ampolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The Washington Examiner looks at some of the congressional district plans most likely to be modified over the next year.

“Proposed budget would kill independent elections commission”

May 30, 2025, 11:05 amcampaign finance, political partiesJustin Levitt

The Blade reports on a proposed Ohio state budget to eliminate the bipartisan commission enforcing state campaign finance law, which would leave the secretary of state’s office with statewide enforcement authority and the ability to break ties on county enforcement… Continue reading

“Maryland’s primary elections are unconstitutional, lawsuit alleges”

May 29, 2025, 12:46 pmelection law and constitutional law, legislation and legislatures, political parties, primariesstate constitutionsJustin Levitt

The WaPo has a story on independent voters claiming a right to participate in primary elections under the state constitution. The complaint is here. Existing Supreme Court precedent on the primary process and the First Amendment mostly gives the… Continue reading

“How Donald Trump Has Remade America’s Political Landscape”

May 25, 2025, 1:59 pmpolitical partiesRick Hasen

NYT: Donald J. Trump’s victory in 2024 was not an outlier. It was the culmination of continuous gains by Republicans in much of the country each time he has run for president, a sea of red that amounts to a… Continue reading

“Josh Hawley and the Republican Populists, at War With Their Party”

April 28, 2025, 7:18 ampolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: The lone Republican vote in the Senate last month to protect consumers from bank overdraft fees came from an unlikely Democratic ally: Senator Josh Hawley, the archconservative from Missouri best known for calling out “wokeness” in all sectors of… Continue reading

“D.N.C. Will Send More Cash to Red States, Aiming to Strengthen Party’s Reach”

April 24, 2025, 6:38 amcampaigns, political partiesTravis Crum

NYT: The Democratic National Committee is pledging to give tens of thousands of dollars monthly to every state party across the country, emphasizing red states over blue ones, in an expansive — and expensive — push to make Democrats… Continue reading

“A Top Democratic Official Plots to Take Down Party Incumbents”

April 16, 2025, 7:29 ampolitical partiesRick Hasen

NYT: Less than three months after the young political activist David Hogg was elected as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, he is undertaking a new project that is sure to rankle some fellow Democrats: spending millions of… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of Safeguarding Democracy Program on Partisan Primaries, Polarization and the Risk of Extremism (with Azari, Foley, Masket, and Pildes)

April 14, 2025, 7:20 amalternative voting systems, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Very enlightening conversation. Watch:

April 10 Safeguarding Democracy Project Webinar: “Partisan Primaries, Polarization, and the Risks of Extremism”

March 31, 2025, 4:59 pmalternative voting systems, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Join us for the final SDP webinar of the spring semester, April 10 at 12:15 pm PT (free registration required): Thursday, April 10 Partisan Primaries, Polarization, and the Risks of Extremism Register for the webinar here.Thursday, April… Continue reading

Political Parties—New Ideas

March 9, 2025, 7:02 ampolitical partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

As I mentioned in my last post on this topic, we have a political party that was elected in part because Americans are concerned about the price of groceries. Now that they hold three branches of government, their primary budget… Continue reading