Category Archives: political parties

“How A Raucous Convention Revolutionized Our Primary System”

January 9, 2020, 3:56 ampolitical parties, primariesDan Tokaji

A 538 video, with more to come: By casting a ballot in a primary or caucus, voters in the U.S. have the chance to decide who will vie to lead the free world. But that wasn’t always the case.… Continue reading

Informational Incentives for Campaign Mobilization

January 6, 2020, 2:06 pmcampaigns, political equality, political partiesJustin Levitt

Bertrall Ross and Doug Spencer have a new paper out in the Northwestern Law Review: “Passive Voter Suppression: Campaign Mobilization and the Effective Disfranchisement of the Poor.” The abstract: A recent spate of election laws tightened registration rules,… Continue reading

“Paperwork problem blocks Andrew Yang from Ohio’s Democratic presidential primary ballot, campaign to launch write-in effort”

January 5, 2020, 1:02 pmballot access, political parties, primariesJustin Levitt

Ballot access is not for the faint of heart.

“What it means to participate in the Iowa caucuses”

January 5, 2020, 1:01 pmpolitical parties, primariesJustin Levitt

Lyz Lenz offers a wry view in The Gazette. But past the humor, her overall point is spot-on: few Americans understand how the Iowa caucuses actually work — and it looks a lot more like a town meeting than a… Continue reading

“New law makes voters’ primary party choice public”

January 5, 2020, 12:57 pmpolitical parties, primariesJustin Levitt

The Pioneer Press reviews an interesting new facet of Minnesota’s law. As in many states, voters have to declare a party preference before voting in a primary, but apparently, the voters’ choice of party is “secret, just like your actual… Continue reading

“Census will mean new ways for politicians to keep power despite earning fewer votes”

January 5, 2020, 12:49 pmpolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

Bill Leonard weighs in on new opportunities for partisan gerrymandering after the Census.

California Democratic Party settles lawsuits alleging harassment and discrimination by former leader

January 3, 2020, 4:35 pmpolitical partiesJustin Levitt

The LA Times has the latest on the continuing fallout from the scandal involving the former chair.

“Top DFLers, state party defend law that permits Trump-only GOP primary ballots”

January 3, 2020, 4:34 pmelection law and constitutional law, political parties, The Voting WarsJustin Levitt

The real story isn’t that state party officials are defending state party associational rights under the First Amendmetn (even if they also benefit opposing parties). The real story is the practical recognition that litigation now begins to creep up on… Continue reading

“Leaked Trump Camp Tape Reignites Concerns Over GOP ‘Ballot Security’ Plans”

January 3, 2020, 4:33 pmchicanery, political partiesJustin Levitt

Tierney Sneed at TPM highlights the audio Rick blogged before the holidays, about the lapse of the consent decree between the DNC and RNC governing “ballot security” efforts.

Unaffiliated voters and the California primaries

January 2, 2020, 1:37 pmpolitical parties, primariesJustin Levitt

Jessica Levinson forecasts coming confusion in California, a heavily absentee-voting state where voters have now been trained on a “top two” state primary (in which voters can vote on all candidates, no matter their party registration). But the top… Continue reading

“Virginia was home to the first gerrymander. It should also be the home of its solution.”

January 2, 2020, 1:31 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

Sam Wang urges the new unilateral Democratic majority in Virginia to follow through on redistricting reform.

“We can’t assume Virginia Democrats will keep their promise on redistricting reform”

January 1, 2020, 3:19 pmpolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The Post’s editorial board laments the potential change of heart after the change in electoral fortunes.

“New York Dems Are Redrawing Congressional Districts and It Could Put Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Out of a Job”

January 1, 2020, 3:18 pmcensus litigation, political parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The Daily Wire ties the census, redistricting, and (perhaps) a bit of wish fulfillment. They’re not wrong about legislative leadership use of redistricting to enforce party discipline, though. It’ll be interesting to see the extent to which New York’s new … Continue reading

“The Constitution in 2020″ in 2020”

January 1, 2020, 3:16 pmelection law and constitutional law, political partiesJustin Levitt

Josh Blackman, at the Volokh Conspiracy, offers a timely reminder of the 2009 ACS essay compilation — “The Constitution in 2020” – with a progressive vision of future constitutional law. The compilation included, among others, a piece by Pam … Continue reading