Category Archives: political parties

Historically tiny House majority

December 4, 2024, 11:31 pmpolitical partiesJustin Levitt

As a result of the fact that California counties have certified their elections (yes, even in Shasta County), the last U.S. House race (CD 13, in the Central Valley) was called. And as a result of that, there are… Continue reading

“Will NC Republicans have the votes to override Cooper’s veto of powers-stripping bill?”

December 4, 2024, 11:27 pmpolitical parties, The Voting Warsdemocratic backslidingJustin Levitt

The story above was about how well the North Carolina elections process works. Jury’s still out on the state’s democracy process, though. This News & Observer piece reviews the legislation tacked on to a Helene relief bill, stripping state executive… Continue reading

“Will Trump’s high-turnout win make Republicans rethink opposition to voting access?”

November 24, 2024, 9:55 ampolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Miles Park for NPR: When John Merrill was secretary of state of Alabama, he felt like it was his job as the state’s top voting official to encourage voter registration. “One of the things I was known for as a… Continue reading

“Replacing JD Vance in the U.S. Senate sets off scramble in Ohio”

November 24, 2024, 5:40 ampolitical parties, political polarizationTabatha Abu El-Haj

An interesting article from CBS News on the intraparty negotiations in Ohio, where Governor Mike DeWine will be filling JD Vance’s seat until the required special election. DeWine’s goal apparently is to avoid picking a weak candidate that might lead… Continue reading

“Three California Minor Parties File Federal Lawsuit Against Top-Two System”

November 22, 2024, 12:22 pmpolitical parties, primariesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Ballot Access News: This week, three California minor parties filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the California top-two system. The parties are Peace & Freedom, Green, and Libertarian. Here is the 12-page Complaint in Peace & Freedom… Continue reading

“Buttigieg Warns Trump-Panicked Democrats, ‘We Cannot Be Mesmerized’”

November 21, 2024, 4:08 pmpolitical partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Pete Buttigieg urges Democrats not to get on Trump’s rollercoaster . . . by which he means off their phones and out in communities engaging in associational party building. From the NY Times: “Mr. Buttigieg suggested that Democrats… Continue reading

“DNC layoffs with no severance leave staffers scrambling, union says”

November 20, 2024, 6:22 ampolitical partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post has this intriguing story. DNC layoffs appear to go beyond the normal cycle of scaling back the political organization after an election. The article reports: “Those laid off included people who had been with the organization for 40… Continue reading

Party Politics is Transactional Politics

November 18, 2024, 6:14 ampolitical parties2024 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

The theory of associational party building, which Didi Kuo and I have written about, started with my in-depth look at the work of Harry Reid in Nevada. It is perhaps not surprising then that of all the commentary… Continue reading

My Forthcoming Yale Law Journal Feature: “The Stagnation, Retrogression, and Potential Pro-Voter Transformation of U.S. Election Law”

August 20, 2024, 7:18 amauthoritarian threats in US, ballot access, Bush v. Gore reflections, campaign finance, cheap speech, chicanery, Constitutional Right to Vote, election administration, election law and constitutional law, Election Meltdown, election subversion risk, First Amendment theory, legislation and legislatures, political equality, political parties, political polarization, primaries, Real Right to Vote, social media and social protests, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, voting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this draft, forthcoming this spring in Volume 134 of the Yale Law Journal. I consider it my most important law review article (or at least the most important that I’ve written in some time). It offers… Continue reading

“Record number of open primary initiatives on the ballot”

August 20, 2024, 6:50 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Pluribus: Voters in as many as half a dozen states will decide this year whether to open primary elections to independent and crossover voters in what supporters say is the broadest-ever assault on the traditional partisan primary process. Ballot initiatives… Continue reading

State of the Parties: Georgia

August 8, 2024, 5:47 ampolitical partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Atlanta Journal Constitution provides a window into the Georgia Republican Party. In a period, when Democratic Party leaders have been doing precisely what they are supposed to do (broker internal conflicts and usher the party toward electoral success), Trump… Continue reading

“Governing the House with Multiple Parties”

August 6, 2024, 3:24 pmpolitical partiesgovernance, Proportional Representation, structural reformTabatha Abu El-Haj

Lee Drutman and Rob Oldham at New American have published a new report exploring how multiple parties in Congress might affect governance. This is huge. Any move toward structural reform must demonstrate that legislatures would be better able to deliver… Continue reading

“Kamala Harris Replacing Joe Biden Is Not Antidemocratic; Hey Republicans, No Coup for You”

July 22, 2024, 6:51 amballot access, political partiesRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: With news of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, some Republicans are claiming he cannot be removed from the presidential ballot in November and in any case it is… Continue reading

The Virtual Roll Call and Harris’s Candidacy

July 21, 2024, 9:09 pmballot access, political partiesDan Tokaji

After President Biden’s historic announcement earlier today, many people are wondering what will happen next. While no one yet knows for sure, there’s been speculation about the possibility of an open convention or even a “blitz primary.” But the… Continue reading