Category Archives: political parties

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

“Cash, claims of illegality already flying in Michigan’s Senate race”

January 1, 2020, 3:15 pmcampaign finance, political partiesJustin Levitt

Here come the allegations of unlawful coordination. And with it, your reminder that, as Dan Tokaji and Renata Strause explained years ago, in assessing the legality of campaign coordination, there’s often a “gap between the line the law draws… Continue reading

Partisan gerrymandering and the 2010s

December 30, 2019, 1:00 pmpolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

And for David Daley, one of the biggest stories of the decade-in-review is partisan gerrymandering.

I’m shocked – shocked – to find that gambling is going on in here.

December 30, 2019, 1:00 pmpolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

A few stories about incumbent government officials weighing the merits of redistricting reform, finding reason to put up the strongest resistance coincidentally right when they unilaterally control the partisan levers of power. In Virginia, it’s Democrats; in Idaho,… Continue reading

“Gerrymandering is alive and well. The coming battle will be bigger than ever.”

December 30, 2019, 12:59 pmpolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

And Jane Timm at NBC News previews the 2020 redistricting cycle these partisan fights are about.

Today’s Must-Read: “Fear and Loyalty: How Donald Trump Took Over the Republican Party”

December 23, 2019, 10:07 ampolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Remarkable look in the NYT at the transformation of the Republican Party.

“Constitutional Law and the Presidential Nomination Process”

December 16, 2019, 10:50 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Richard Briffault has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, The Best Candidate: Presidential Nomination in Polarized Times (Eugene D. Mazo and Michael R. Dimino, eds., Cambridge Univ. Press 2020)). Here is the abstract: The Constitution says nothing about the presidential… Continue reading

“Why Almost Nobody Will Defend the Iowa Caucuses”

November 14, 2019, 7:34 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

NYT: In Iowa, fretting about the caucuses is a quadrennial tradition among Democratic and Republican officials alike. But at a time when leading Democrats have made the fight for ballot access, voting rights and diverse representation core principles, their marquee… Continue reading