Politico: California’s new law requiring candidates’ tax returns may be aimed at Donald Trump, but its most consequential effects would likely be felt downballot if it survives a legal challenge.For Republicans who already face a steep climb to blunt Democratic … Continue reading
Category Archives: primaries
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill requiring Presidential candidates (as well as gubernatorial candidates) to supply their tax returns if they want appear on the primary ballot. There is no question the Trump campaign or their allies, and … Continue reading
Stateline focuses on a lot of questions about the plans for Iowa and Nevada caucuses. … Continue reading
They’ve got a 17-question survey polling the candidates on particular campaign and electoral reforms. Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg, Booker, Williamson, and Bullock have turned in their take-home exams already. … Continue reading
The National Law Journal reviews the law firms behind the presidential contenders. … Continue reading
On Monday, Rick linked to an AP piece on 2020 Democratic caucus voting by phone in Iowa and Nevada. Steve Rosenfeld has some deeper dives today (Iowa, Nevada) on what may be brake-pumping at the DNC. … Continue reading
Steven Rosenfeld: The Independent Media Institute’s Voting Booth project obtained a copy of Iowa’s RFP and asked industry and academic experts in remote voting and election cyber-security to assess Iowa’s envisioned telephone-based system. The experts’ top concerns—based on observing similar … Continue reading
Rick Pildes has posted this draft on SSRN (Forthcoming in The Best Candidate: Presidential Nomination in Polarized Times (E. Mazo ed.)) Here is the abstract: The presidential-candidate nomination process is increasingly a train wreck. Voters are now asked to sort … Continue reading
Wichita Eagle reports. … Continue reading
Dave Daley and Rob Richie oped: Step aside, Super Tuesday — and say aloha to ranked-choice voting.While contests in 11 states on March 3 will elect the most delegates in the 2020 presidential primaries, it’s April 4 — and the … Continue reading
NYT: The House Democratic campaign arm is nearing open warfare with the party’s rising liberal wing as political operatives close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi try to shut down primary challenges before what is likely to be a hard-fought campaign next … Continue reading
The Seattle Times reports. … Continue reading
John Myers for the LAT: In the days leading up to California’s primary three years ago, the complaints from unaffiliated independent voters started pouring in. They were promised they could vote in the closely watched Democratic race for the White House, but … Continue reading
Good news from Nevada. Caucuses are inherently undemocratic, as I’ve been arguing for years. … Continue reading
Salt Lake Tribune: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ended five years of legal battles by the Utah Republican Party to quash a 2014 election law that allows candidates to qualify for the ballot by collecting signatures and/or through the … Continue reading
A Politico update on the impact of new rules for Democratic primary debates. … Continue reading
Steven Rosenfeld sees parallels between a 2017 Alberta provincial leadership campaign and the NC09 scandal, with lessons for 2020 primaries considering means to further participation online or by phone. … Continue reading
Three new white papers on California’s top-two primary out of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, by Charles Munger, Jr., a financial and political backer of the top-two system. … Continue reading
Seattle Times reports: “The bill would move Washington’s presidential primary to March 10, 2020, just one month after New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.” … Continue reading
WaPo reports. … Continue reading
The Salt Lake Tribune reports. … Continue reading
Here is the minor party brief. Here is the Lee/Cruz brief. My earlier coverage is here, where I suggest this would be a very interesting case for the Court to hear. … Continue reading
NY Times: Democratic Party officials, after a yearslong battle between warring ideological wings, have agreed to sharply reduce the influence of the top political insiders known as superdelegates in the presidential nomination process. Under the new plan, which was agreed … Continue reading
NYT: [I]n the California Senate [top-two] primary last month, Ms. Feinstein crushed Mr. de León in her bid for a sixth term, drawing 2.9 million votes compared to 804,000 votes for him. But on Saturday night, the executive committee of … Continue reading
Dan Howle and Rob Richie oped in the SD Union-Tribune: We, the Independent Voter Project and FairVote, have and continue to have our different perspectives and opinions about what is the “best” way to conduct our elections. But at a … Continue reading
Richard Winger oped in San Diego Union-Tribune. … Continue reading
Politico: The controversial issue of “superdelegates” and their future in the Democratic Party led to an angry confrontation on Tuesday night between Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and House Democrats, according to several lawmakers. But the members’ angst may … Continue reading
John Myers for LAT: Gamesmanship was everywhere. Could a feared opponent be shut out of a spot on the fall ballot? Might a political party’s leaders convince some hopefuls in crowded races to step aside and thus avoid splitting the … Continue reading
Reid Wilson reports for The Hill. … Continue reading
Dan Balz: Eight years ago, California voters approved a ballot initiative establishing a new open primary system. The new system called for primary contests in which all candidates from all parties would be listed on the same ballot. The top … Continue reading
NYT: With so many Democrats running, the party’s fear is that the vote will be splintered, allowing Republicans — who have fewer candidates — to dominate some primaries. The party and allied groups are spending more than $4 million on … Continue reading
NYT: It was supposed to be a cutting-edge election reform, a way to take the party out of politics: an open primary in which labels like Republican and Democratic were tossed out and candidates were chosen, presumably, on their merits. … Continue reading
David Wasserman for the Cook Political Report: Republicans badly need a few lucky breaks to hold their House majority in November. So far in 2018, it’s been the opposite story — from an unfriendly new Pennsylvania map to Speaker Paul … Continue reading
Alex Burns in the NYT: But in some areas, Democratic leaders have concluded it is worth enduring backlash to help a prized recruit or tame a chaotic primary field. They are moving most aggressively in California, where the state’s nonpartisan primaries present a … Continue reading
John Myers for the LAT: The California primary that’s now less than three months away promises to be the system’s most important test, and possibly its most controversial. Although Democrats have largely consolidated their power behind just a few formidable … Continue reading
The Salt Lake Tribune reports. … Continue reading
WaPo reports. … Continue reading
LAT: There are so many Democrats running for Congress in some districts that they could split the votes in the June 5 primary and send two Republicans to the November election, thanks to California’s top-two primary system. Democrats need 24 … Continue reading
Following up on this post, the NC Legislature has now sought emergency relief in the 4th Circuit. … Continue reading
Des Moines Register: Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Democratic presidential caucuses would break with decades of tradition in 2020 by allowing voters to cast absentee ballots and then releasing the raw total of votes won by each candidate. A Democratic National Committee panel known … Continue reading
As part of the critique I’ve been developing in recent years (e.g., here) over the excessively populist direction of a number of post-1960s political “reforms,” I have turned my attention to raising questions about changes we’ve made to the presidential … Continue reading
CNN covers the expanding GOP civil war. … Continue reading
Ron Klain: That means, first, abolishing caucuses and using only primaries to pick convention delegates. (One exception can be made for the iconic Iowa caucuses.) The selection of a president should not be limited to those voters able to attend … Continue reading
Eric McGhee and Bors Shor in Perspectives on Politics: Party polarization is perhaps the most significant political trend of the past several decades of American politics. Many observers have pinned hopes on institutional reforms to reinvigorate the political center. The Top … Continue reading
Salt Lake Tribune: Gov. Gary Herbert wished aloud Thursday that the Utah Republican Party would drop its lawsuit challenging the state’s new election law, which is driving a wedge between the party’s right wing and moderates. But he concedes that … Continue reading
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
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
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
Hawaii petition Montana petition This could well get taken up by the new Supreme Court. … Continue reading
A move in the right direction. (Though I still want to kill the undemocratic caucuses entirely.) … Continue reading