Category Archives: political parties

“Ramshackle Federalism: America’s Archaic and Dysfunctional Presidential Election System”

February 24, 2017, 6:23 pmpolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Tony Gaughan has posted this draft on SSRN (Fordham Law Review). Here is the abstract: Although the presidency is the most powerful public office in the United States, the federal government plays a modest role in presidential elections. Reflecting the… Continue reading

“Explainer: Voting Rules for Saturday’s Election of DNC Chair”

February 22, 2017, 8:06 ampolitical partiesRick Hasen

Rob Richie and EJ Marin.

Unanimous 4th Circuit Rejects Argument that VA Violates Constitution by Not Putting Party Preferences of Local Candidates on Ballot

February 21, 2017, 10:31 pmpolitical partiesRick Hasen

Opinion.

“Party by Association: Charting a New Path to Responsive Party Government”

February 21, 2017, 1:08 pmcampaign finance, political partiesRick Hasen

Tabatha Abu El-Haj has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Hardly a day goes by without a headline decrying the hyperpolarization and dysfunction of Congress. While the 2016 election has heightened these concerns, the fact is that… Continue reading

“Playing Cards in a Hurricane: Party Reform in an Age of Polarization”

January 18, 2017, 9:10 pmpolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Heather Gerken has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Houston Law Review). Here is the abstract: In his Frankel Lecture, “Outsourcing Politics: The Hostile Takeovers of Our Hollowed Out Parties,” Sam Issacharoff suggests that legal changes have systematically disabled the… Continue reading

“Outsourcing Politics: The Hostile Takeovers of Our Hollowed out Political Parties”

December 23, 2016, 1:31 pmcampaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

Sam Issacharoff has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Houston Law Review). Here is the abstract: In 2016, both the Republicans and Democrats experienced efforts at hostile takeover of their presidential campaigns. On the Republican side of the ledger, the… Continue reading

Hawaii Democrats and Montana Republicans File Cert Petitions Challenging Mandatory Open Primaries

December 21, 2016, 2:30 pmpolitical parties, primaries, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Hawaii petition Montana petition This could well get taken up by the new Supreme Court.

Watch Video of NYU Forum on “A New American Political System?”

December 19, 2016, 3:04 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

This was a great conference. Video courtesy of CSPAN: Vice President Biden Keynote Viability of Third Parties (Ginsberg, Keating, Pildes) Role of Media in the 2016 Election (Marcus, Psaki) Technology in Political Campaigns (Goodstein, Persily, Rospars) Fred Yang on 2016 … Continue reading

“Why the GOP Congress Will Stop Trump from Going Too Far”

December 14, 2016, 8:51 ampolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Interesting Daniel Stid for Washington Monthly.

“Could campaign finance overhaul help solve congressional gridlock?”

December 8, 2016, 7:27 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Open Secrets reports on today’s Excellent Sidley forum at NYU in DC: Should we restrict political contributions? How have weakened political parties impacted this election? Can public financing work? President-elect Donald Trump pledged to “drain the swamp,” yet has not… Continue reading

How Will Congress and the Separation of Powers Function Under a Trump Administration?

November 29, 2016, 12:32 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRichard Pildes

Christopher DeMuth, former head of OIRA in the Reagan OMB and former President of AEI, has a long, thoughtful essay in the weekend Wall Street Journal in which he explores whether the separation of powers might see a revival in… Continue reading

Democrats Blame “Voter Suppression” for Clinton Loss at Their Peril

November 10, 2016, 9:26 ampolitical parties, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Let me start by getting a few important points out of the way, so it is clear what I’m saying. Yes, Republican legislatures have passed a series of laws making it harder to register and vote. It is not just… Continue reading

“The Democratic Party Establishment Is Finished”

November 9, 2016, 8:34 amcampaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

Jim Newell: The midterm losses? That was just a bad cycle, structurally speaking; presidential demographics would make up for it. The party establishment made a grievous mistake rallying around Hillary Clinton. It wasn’t just a lack of recent political seasoning.… Continue reading

“A Narrower Majority for Republicans Could Widen the House Divide”

November 4, 2016, 8:50 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: But some members of the Freedom Caucus seem to have another agenda in mind. They strategized behind closed doors on Wednesday about how to press for their priorities during the lame-duck session, as well as under a potential… Continue reading