Category Archives: political parties

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

“CFI On the State of the Political Parties: Is It Working Out After All?”

April 19, 2017, 7:56 amcampaign finance, political partiesRick Hasen

Fascinating Bauer.

“Political Parties and Candidates Dominated the 2016 House Elections While Holding Their Own in the Senate”

April 13, 2017, 9:34 amcampaign finance, campaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

New CFI analysis: Perhaps it is time to stop bemoaning the weakness of political parties in financing federal elections. The prevailing opinion is that since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, “outside groups” accepting unlimited contributions… Continue reading

The WI Gerrymandering Case and the Costs of Mandatory Jurisdiction

April 4, 2017, 8:59 ampolitical parties, redistrictingRichard Pildes

The 2-1 federal court decision striking down Wisconsin’s redistricting plans for the state legislature as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, Whitford v. Gil, is without doubt the most significant lower federal court decision on partisan gerrymandering the lower courts have ever… Continue reading

“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