“New Report: Restoring Voting Rights for People With Felony Convictions Can Improve Public Safety”
I’d missed this new research on recidivism rates from the Sentencing Project.
“Pritzker Calls for Campaign Finance Reform After Spending $323m on Campaigns”
This piece from Illinois Policy points out, among other things, that Illinois law prohibits any “single person” from donating more than $500K to a single campaign … and that both Pritzker’s campaign committee and his revocable trust donated the… Continue reading
“Billionaire backing effort to raise Ohio amendment threshold funded election deniers, Jan. 6 rally”
The Ohio Capital Journal notes that one of the ostensible reasons for raising Ohio’s threshold to pass citizen-initiated constitutional amendments is to “keep powerful out-of-state interests from meddling with the Ohio Constitution” … and that a significant donor to the… Continue reading
Ranked choice on the menu
There must be something in the water today.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s editorial board decries a “two-party system in a one-party town,” in advocating a switch from splintered partisan primaries to a nonpartisan primary with ranked-choice voting.
Illinois state Rep. Kam… Continue reading
“Small-dollar donors didn’t save democracy. They made it worse.”
From the Washington Post:
Small-dollar donors were supposed to save democracy. Reformers had hoped that grass-roots political fundraising — connected by the internet and united against corruption — would become a formidable force to counter the money that wealthy individuals… Continue reading
Congratulations to Anthony Johnstone …
who is (among many other professional accomplishments) a former election law professor, and now the most recent Ninth Circuit judge.
Montana state legislator sues over censure
The lawsuit filed today in state court by Rep. Zephyr – Montana’s first openly transgender lawmaker — and several of her constituents contends that her censure and subsequent barring from Capitol grounds violates the Montana state constitution.
I’m still hoping… Continue reading
“Americans fault news media for dividing nation”
This latest AP-NORC poll on the public’s assessment of media impact on democracy and polarization isn’t great news.
I don’t know if they polled on the impact of different media formats separately (and I’d love the pointer if anyone does… Continue reading
“Independent State Legislature” Theory, North Carolina, and Ohio
Vik Amar and Jason Mazzone suggest that the Court grant cert. pronto in Huffman v. Neiman, the Ohio partisan gerrymandering case, as it considers whatever just happened in North Carolina. Rick had similar thoughts.
“As 2024 Campaigns Begin, States Confront Threats to Election Workers”
And yet, there’s a lot more to be done. NCSL has more on a disturbing trend that should be of concern to every single one of its members.
And good for Kansas SOS Scott Schwab for speaking up here (and… Continue reading
“Exclusive: Dominion Voting Systems tells its Fox News lawsuit story”
Axios with a bit of oral history.
“Military voting access boosted with new Michigan election law”
Michigan Live notes the new grace period for receiving military and overseas absentee ballots – the first part of an effort to implement Prop 2 from last year.
“The Judges Have Too Much Power”
Molly Coleman with a bunch of suggestions for Congress that probably sounded like good ideas to various Court-watchers with very different political orientations in different eras, trying to impose the “passive virtues.”
I’d add shadow docket reform, particularly in the… Continue reading
“Florida commission slaps down Trump PAC’s ethics complaint against DeSantis”
Fox notes the Florida Ethics Commission decision that MAGA Inc. hadn’t sufficiently alleged the violation of Florida law in DeSantis’s will-he-or-won’t-he activities.