Category Archives: political parties

“House Democratic Campaign Arm Nears War With Liberals Over Primary Fights”

April 8, 2019, 7:41 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

NYT: The House Democratic campaign arm is nearing open warfare with the party’s rising liberal wing as political operatives close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi try to shut down primary challenges before what is likely to be a hard-fought campaign next… Continue reading

“Washington Democrats choose presidential primary for 2020, ditching precinct caucuses”

April 7, 2019, 8:03 pmpolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

The Seattle Times reports.

“For independent voters, California lawmakers seek to end ballot confusion”

April 4, 2019, 8:09 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

John Myers for the LAT: In the days leading up to California’s primary three years ago, the complaints from unaffiliated independent voters started pouring in. They were promised they could vote in the closely watched Democratic race for the White… Continue reading

“With little fallout from nuclear option, Senate’s legislative filibuster is in jeopardy”

April 2, 2019, 8:38 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

WaPo: The fallout from the Senate’s so-called nuclear option has largely dissipated.And without much fallout, the fate of the once-revered process known as the legislative filibuster faces its greatest peril in more than a century.Senate Republicans are using a… Continue reading

Proportionality and the Oral Arguments — Part II

March 27, 2019, 9:10 ampolitical parties, redistricting, Supreme Court, The Voting WarsJustin Levitt

Yesterday, Nick offered some thoughts on the arguments in the Rucho and Benisek partisan gerrymandering cases, and several Justices’ fixation on whether all of this litigation is just a Trojan horse for achieving proportional representation. Nick’s post highlights the fact… Continue reading

Nevada Democrats Will Allow People to Participate Virtually in Presidential Primary Caucus, Increasing Opportunities for Participation

March 21, 2019, 8:19 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Good news from Nevada. Caucuses are inherently undemocratic, as I’ve been arguing for years.

“The lengthy legal fight over Utah election law is over as U.S. Supreme Court refuses to accept GOP appeal”

March 10, 2019, 7:20 pmpolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Salt Lake Tribune: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ended five years of legal battles by the Utah Republican Party to quash a 2014 election law that allows candidates to qualify for the ballot by collecting signatures and/or through… Continue reading

“Dem long shots crash 2020 debate stage”

March 9, 2019, 11:21 ampolitical parties, primariesJustin Levitt

A Politico update on the impact of new rules for Democratic primary debates.

“The Geography of Partisan Prejudice”

March 7, 2019, 11:50 ampolitical parties, political polarizationJustin Levitt

A fascinating mapping of estimates of affective polarization (how Americans feel about members of the opposing major party). The polling question isn’t new, but I think that mapping the results onto counties by their demographic composition might be. (Note: this… Continue reading

Pushback to the 2018 Missouri redistricting citizens’ initiative

March 7, 2019, 11:47 ampolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The Springfield News-Leader reports: Last fall, Missouri voters approved a one-of-a-kind plan to root out partisan gerrymandering with 62 percent of the vote. Republicans unhappy with the changes are now trying to roll them back. Five GOP lawmakers, including… Continue reading

“Political competition is moderating Texas Republicans”

March 7, 2019, 11:45 ampolitical parties, political polarizationJustin Levitt

Behind a paywall, the Economist reviews an apparent shift in Texas legislators’ priorities.

“Trump threatens to block networks from hosting debates after Dems reject Fox” (in primaries)

March 6, 2019, 8:08 pmcampaigns, political partiesJustin Levitt

Sigh.

Stolen Votes North of the Border

March 6, 2019, 3:04 pmchicanery, internet voting, political parties, primariesJustin Levitt

Steven Rosenfeld sees parallels between a 2017 Alberta provincial leadership campaign and the NC09 scandal, with lessons for 2020 primaries considering means to further participation online or by phone.

White Papers Assessing California Top-Two Primary

March 6, 2019, 2:58 pmpolitical parties, political polarization, primariesJustin Levitt

Three new white papers on California’s top-two primary out of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, by Charles Munger, Jr., a financial and political backer of the top-two system.