Category Archives: primaries

“How Liz Cheney could force voters to defend our foundational principles”

February 5, 2022, 4:52 amprimaries, UncategorizedRichard Pildes

From Barney Frank, on how Liz Cheney could bypass a Republican primary and compete in the general election: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and the Democratic leadership have already done American democracy a major service by their mutually respectful cooperation… Continue reading

“Alaska Supreme Court Upholds Top-Four Initiative”

January 19, 2022, 5:28 pmprimariesRick Hasen

BAN links to the order.

Oral argument in Alaska RCV case

January 18, 2022, 4:18 pmalternative voting systems, primariesNed Foley

As Rick blogged earlier today, the Alaska Supreme Court heard oral argument in an important case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new electoral system, which has a nonpartisan primary that sends the top four candidates to the general… Continue reading

The Big Lie & the Primary Problem

January 5, 2022, 6:51 pmalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, primariesNed Foley

This new piece in The Washington Post, as well as several others including one in the N.Y. Times based on Jeremy Peters’ forthcoming book, confirms for me the connection between (1) the entrenchment of Trump’s false claim about the… Continue reading

Could bipartisan democracy-protection have worked? Could it still?

December 23, 2021, 5:35 amalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, political parties, primariesNed Foley

There has been skepticism voiced by some about my suggestion that, after January 6, Democrats in Congress should have pursued a strategy of finding at least ten GOP Senators to support the kind of structural electoral reform, like a majority-winner … Continue reading

Trump’s primary power

December 22, 2021, 5:56 amalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, primariesNed Foley

Henry Olsen for the Washington Post updates his top 5 list of the GOP primaries that will show Trump’s influence in the midterms. His new rankings list the Perdue-Kemp gubernatorial primary in Georgia first. When I contemplate this race, as… Continue reading

“‘A real fight for our existence’: Massachusetts GOP spirals in Baker exit”

December 5, 2021, 6:27 pmpolitical parties, political polarization, primariesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Moderate Republicans struggling to stay in office given party primary dynamics is not exactly news. Still, this Politico article on the Republican Party in Massachusetts is worthwhile. “Republicans [in Massachusetts] have clung to relevancy in this bluest of blue state… Continue reading

The Problem with Plurality-Winner Elections

November 3, 2021, 5:21 pmalternative voting systems, political parties, political polarization, primariesranked choice votingNed Foley

Election Law at Ohio State is pleased to present a one-hour webinar on the issue of electoral system design: The Problem with Plurality-Winner Elections – And Can Requiring Majority Winners Help Save Democracy? It’s scheduled for Friday, November 19, at… Continue reading

Democracy Protection Requires More than Voting Rights

September 17, 2021, 1:52 pmalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, primariesNed Foley

Senator Tim Kaine has a new Washington Post op-ed entitled The Jan. 6 attack demands that we protect voting rights, in which he says: “Only by passing comprehensive voting rights legislation can we live up to th[e] responsibility” to protect… Continue reading

The “Portman problem” is now also the “Gonzalez problem”

September 16, 2021, 7:38 pmalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, primariesNed Foley

Earlier today, I did a post explaining why, if the goal is to reduce the risk of Republicans repudiating the result of a valid victory in the 2024 presidential election by the Democratic candidate, the highest electoral reform priority for… Continue reading

Democrats, democracy, and “the Portman problem”

September 16, 2021, 9:40 amalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, political parties, primaries, theoryNed Foley

Can one party save democracy by itself? I don’t think so, but that seems to be the view of some, as nicely captured by Ed Kilgore in responding to my blog post How Best to End “Electoral McCarthyism”? Kilgore acknowledges:… Continue reading

What new census data tell us about Pa.’s politics: More influence for Philly and Latinos, and a shrinking white vote

August 16, 2021, 11:11 amprimaries, redistricting, votingTabatha Abu El-Haj

From Jonathan Tamari and Jonathan Lai at the Philadelphia Inquirer: An interesting in-depth analysis of the potential political consequences of demographic changes in Pennsylvania—sadly, behind a firewall. Two key points beyond the headline: “Philadelphia and suburban Bucks, Chester, Delaware,… Continue reading

Michigan Mess: Internecine War in GOP

July 30, 2021, 5:52 amelection subversion risk, political parties, political polarization, primariesNed Foley

Politico has a fascinating read on the infighting among Michigan Republicans between Trump supporters, for whom belief that 2020 election was stolen from Trump remains the focus of attention, and traditional Republicans who (like Bill Barr) recognize that this stolen… Continue reading