Category Archives: political parties

“Group of G.O.P. Senators Quietly Explore Rule Changes”

January 13, 2016, 8:27 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: Senate Republicans will meet on Wednesday to delve into a subject that usually sets off political fireworks on Capitol Hill: changing Senate rules. But a small group of senators led by Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, has… Continue reading

“Fearing anger from Trump voters, Va. officials want to close schools for primary”

January 13, 2016, 7:37 amelection administration, political parties, primariesRick Hasen

WaPo: Officials in Virginia’s largest jurisdiction want to close public schools during the Super Tuesday presidential primaries, saying they fear that supporters of Republican front-runner Donald Trump could cause mayhem at the polls. The concerns stem mainly from a… Continue reading

“Judge adds state GOP as defendant in suit against primary oath”

January 12, 2016, 11:02 amcampaigns, political parties, primariesRick Hasen

The latest from Va.

“How Old is Donald Trump?”

January 11, 2016, 4:45 pmballot access, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

New Yorker: We don’t have third parties here, but we have seen some of the same energies. Surveying the landscape in 2014, David Schleicher, now of Yale Law School, suggested that the basic turn made, both in Europe and… Continue reading

ELB Podcast Episode 9. Ben Ginsberg: The Republican Nomination Battle for President

January 10, 2016, 5:00 pmcampaigns, ELB Podcast, political parties, primariesRick Hasen

Will the Republican presidential nomination fight go beyond the primaries to a contested convention? Are the rules Republicans passed to assign delegates going to lead to chaos? What’s different about this election cycle, and are Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders… Continue reading

“Maine Democrats middlemen for wealthy donors and national party”

January 7, 2016, 10:21 amcampaign finance, campaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

Maine Sun Journal: A Cuban-born sugar tycoon. A California-based registered foreign agent for the government of Sri Lanka. A Chicago billionaire. All are recent large donors to the Maine Democratic Party via a complex fundraising strategy called the Hillary Victory… Continue reading

Trump Virginia Loyalty Pledge Case Looks Weak

January 7, 2016, 10:18 amcampaigns, political parties, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

WaPo: Three African American pastors who support Donald Trump filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday over a requirement that GOP primary voters sign a statement affirming that they are Republicans — a plan the presidential front-runner has condemned. The plaintiffs say… Continue reading

“Supporters Seek to Persuade Democrats to ‘Ditch and Switch’ for Donald Trump”

January 6, 2016, 8:21 amcampaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

NYT: At a campaign event for Donald J. Trump in Mississippi last weekend, Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson — two African-American YouTube stars who go by the names Diamond and Silk — rallied the roaring crowd with a plea.… Continue reading

“How Campaign Finance Reform Contributed to Polarization”

January 5, 2016, 7:28 amcampaign finance, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Seth Masket reviews LaRaja and Schaffner’s new book.

“Trump’s Va. campaign threatens legal action against state GOP”

December 31, 2015, 8:46 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Here we go.

No Wonder Donald Trump Opposes Va Loyalty Oath

December 31, 2015, 8:29 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

A few days ago, Donald Trump tweeted against Virginia’s loyalty oath: “It begins, Republican Party of Virginia, controlled by the RNC, is working hard to disallow independent, unaffiliated and new voters. BAD!” Well this new analysis from Nate Cohn of… Continue reading

“The Consequences of California’s Top-Two Primary”

December 31, 2015, 8:09 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

The Atlantic: One of the immediate impacts of the top-two primary was that it had inadvertently created an incentive for candidates to broaden the field, recruiting additional candidates to dilute support for their most dangerous opponents. This became evident… Continue reading

David Frum on Republican Voter Suppression and Gerrymandering as Political Strategy

December 30, 2015, 10:07 ampolitical parties, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

@PeterBeinart and @DavidFrum both have excellent political articles in the upcoming issue of The Atlantic. Beinart’s pieces deal with the U.S. moving left, thanks in large part to demographic change and changing attitudes of millennials. (More on the… Continue reading

“Prominent Lawyer Outlines Nightmare Situations for G.O.P. Convention”

December 30, 2015, 9:14 ampolitical partiesRick Hasen

NYT: Mr. Ginsberg outlined two events that would leave Republican leaders scrambling to sort out who will represent the party in the general election: a “clear cluster” and a “party buster.” In the first case, several candidates would be hundreds… Continue reading