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Several surprising things about Trump's Colorado disqualification
by liberaldad2 12/19/23 The DailyKos
First, none of the judges disagreed that Trump was guilty of insurrection. At least, none of the dissenters mentioned that in their dissents. In other words, the CO Supreme Court ruled 7-0 that Donald Trump is guilty of insurrection. Two of the dissenters simply believed that the disqualification should be decided at the federal level. Third, conservative retired judge Michael Luttig was a guest on MSNBC last night. Based on the unassailable arguments in the written opinion, he predicted that SCOTUS will uphold the CO decision.
Billionaire-funded group driving effort to erode democracy in key US states
by Brendan Fischer 23/6/23 The Guardian
A Florida group primarily funded by an Illinois billionaire is driving the recent attacks on direct democracy in states such as Ohio, Missouri, South Dakota and Arkansas.
Election system needs an overhaul, but it's not that easy
by Deborah Charles 8/11/12 Reuters
Election Day problems have become commonplace in the United States in recent general elections. But a comment by President Barack Obama offered a glimmer of hope that problems that have dogged voting for years might finally be addressed.
Fox News settles blockbuster defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems
by David Folkenflik 18/4/23 npr
Judge Eric Davis of the Delaware Superior Court announced the settlement from the bench on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the trial's scheduled start.
How has the Electoral College survived, despite being perennially unpopular?
A majority of Americans — more than 60% — support abolishing the Electoral College, according to a September report by the Pew Research Center. But the system has survived an unprecedented number of attempts to change it.
US election: how does the electoral college voting system work?
by Richard Hargy 4/11/24 THE CONVERSATION
On November 5, millions of Americans will cast their votes for president, with the vast majority deciding between Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump. This historic election, however, is not determined by a singular national poll, but rather a state-by-state contest. Many people outside the US, and some inside, do not understand how this complicated system works.
Republican bid to alter Nebraska's electoral system to boost Trump stymied
Sept 23 (Reuters) - A last-minute Republican effort to award Nebraska's five Electoral College votes on a winner-take-all basis - a change that would help Donald Trump's odds of winning the White House - appeared doomed on Monday, after a key Republican lawmaker said he opposed the proposal despite lobbying from Trump's allies.
The real reason we have an Electoral College: to protect slave states
There’s too much news and too little context. At Vox, we’ll help you understand what really matters. We report urgently on the most important stories shaping our world, but we also spend time on issues the rest of the media neglects.
In Georgia, primary election chaos highlights a voting system deeply flawed
by Miles O'Brien 22/6/20 PBS NEWS
Georgia experienced major problems with its voting processes during a primary election earlier in June. People waited in line up to eight hours to cast ballots, and poll workers struggled with new machines on which they hadn’t been trained due to the pandemic. What do Georgia’s election issues mean for other state primaries -- and for American democracy more broadly?
Can a socialist ex-marine fill Joe Manchin’s seat in West Virginia?
by Chris Stein 11/19/2023 The Guardian
“We need leaders that are cut from the working-class cloth. We need representation that will go toe to toe with corporate parasites and their bought politicians. We need a leader who will not waver in the face of these powers that keep the boot on our neck,” Shrewsbury said to applause from the small group of supporters gathered behind him. The remarks were a swipe at Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator who for the past 13 years had managed to represent what has become one of the most Republican states in the nation. In recent years he has used his power as a swing vote in Congress to stop several of Joe Biden’s legislative priorities – attracting the ire of progressives and prompting Shrewsbury to mount a primary challenge.
Could the Electoral College system ever change?
by PBS News Hour 13/11/16 PBS NEWS
President-Elect Donald Trump captured the White House by winning the Electoral College, even as Hillary Clinton won about half a million votes more than Trump. In response, some are calling for a national popular vote to decide the election. Josh Tucker, a politics professor at New York University, joins Alison Stewart to discuss.
Voting system failures: database solution
by Lawrence Norden BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Our work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to presidential power in the fight against terrorism. A singular institution – part think tank, part public interest law firm, part advocacy group – the Brennan Center combines scholarship, legislative and legal advocacy, and communication to win meaningful, measurable change in the public sector.
How to Fix America’s Confusing Voting System
by Aliyya Swaby 12/9/22 PROPUBLICA
Faye Combs used to enter the voting booth with trepidation. Unable to read until she was in her 40s, she would struggle to decipher the words on the ballot, intimidated by how quickly the people around her finished and departed.
Here’s how US presidents get elected (it’s not by winning the most votes)
by John Letzing 1/10/20 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
The Electoral College is a mostly winner-take-all system that delivers a set number of electoral votes per state to the winner of the popular vote there. That set number is based on a state’s headcount in Congress – the minimum is three (as in Alaska and Wyoming, for example), and the maximum is 55 (California). There are 538 in total, and 270 are needed to win.
Commentary: Why the Electoral College System Makes Little Sense Today
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, center, carries a ballot box containing the 12 Massachusetts electoral votes for Vice President Al Gore during the Electoral College voting at the Statehouse Dec. 18, 2000, in Boston. Is the Electoral College system outdated?
Voting Restrictions Are Further Politicizing U.S. Electoral System, Journalist Says
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest, Nick Corasaniti, has been reporting on what he describes as how the Republican Party is attempting to lock in political control for years to come by pushing through new laws to restrict voting access, limit ballot initiatives that could undermine Republican goals and stiffen penalties for poll workers and election officials who make even minor mistakes.
Russian Hacks on U.S. Voting System Wider Than Previously Known
by Michael Riley 13/6/17 Bloomberg
Russia’s cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported.
The voting system we use can determine the winner. Here's how
by Hannah aaaaaaaaaaachinn 5/11/24 npr
It's Election Day in the United States! Across the nation, millions of ballots are being cast. But what would happen if the rules of our electoral system were changed?
Can We Fire the Electoral College? Probably Not, but We Can Put It Under New Management
by Susan N. Herman 19/12/16 ACLU
The electors of the Electoral College met this afternoon in their respective states and anointed as president the candidate who won the popular vote in a larger number of states — Donald Trump — regardless of the fact that another candidate — Hillary Clinton — won the larger number of votes by several million.
Look just how much red counties depend on the government they hate
One of the most enduring conservative myths is that of the self-reliant, salt-of-the-earth, rural-dwelling American who pulls himself up by his bootstraps, wrestles a steer before breakfast, and builds his own house out of patriotism and chewing tobacco because, by god, they sure do love America!
Our Democratic and Republican voting states death rate as percent of Canada's by age.
by pecanjim 26/11/23 DAILY KOS
First the Democratic states: They experienced 696,501 deaths in 2019. If they experienced the Canadian death rate they would have experienced 574,840. That is 121,661, or 17.5 percent, fewer.
Why Billionaires Fund Anti-Trans & Anti-Black-History Political Movements
by Thomnhartmann 16/8/23 DAILY KOS
Almost 12 percent of Americans, over 37 million of us, live in dire poverty. According to OECD numbers, while only 5 percent of Italians and 11 percent of Japanese workers toil in low-wage jobs, almost a quarter of Americans — 23 percent — work for wages that can’t support a normal lifestyle. (And low-income Japanese and Italians have free healthcare and college.)
The Pathfinder: Ranked-choice voting coming to more statewide ballots in 2024
by Leslie Graves 18/12/23 PRESERVING DEMOCRACY
The presidential election will undoubtedly be the biggest political story in 2024. But it may not be the most interesting – or even the most consequential. The issue to watch in 2024 is more than 100 years old, but has only recently become a potentially transformative force in state and local elections.
How ranked-choice voting could make voters more open to third-party candidates
by Marsha Mercer 2/9/16 PBS NEWS
Fed up with unpopular chief executives who lack mandates for their proposals, voters will decide in November whether to adopt an instant runoff, or ranked-choice voting, system whenever there are more than two candidates.
How open primaries and ranked-choice voting can help break partisan gridlock
by Daily News Lesson 6/6/24 PBS
How the parties select their candidates is a major factor in the increasing partisanship we've seen in recent years. Recently, Alaska has been trying something different. It's already showing results but facing some resistance. Judy Woodruff traveled there for her ongoing series about divisions in the country, America at a Crossroads.
Voters will decide critical statewide ballot measures in midterm election
by Laura Barron Lopez 18/10/22 PBS NEWS
For many voters this year, the focus has been on contests for governor, senator or local representatives, but voters in 36 states will decide the future of abortion access, health care and even voting itself. Laura Barrón-López sat down with Reid Wilson of Pluribus News to discuss the ballot measures.
Why Billionaires Fund Anti-Trans & Anti-Black-History Political Movements
by Thomnhartmann 16/8/23 DAILY KOS
Almost 12 percent of Americans, over 37 million of us, live in dire poverty. According to OECD numbers, while only 5 percent of Italians and 11 percent of Japanese workers toil in low-wage jobs, almost a quarter of Americans — 23 percent — work for wages that can’t support a normal lifestyle. (And low-income Japanese and Italians have free healthcare and college.)
How the far right tore apart one of the best tools to fight voter fraud
On a night in January 2022, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin stepped on stage in a former airbase in Houma, La. With American flags draped from the stage, the topic of the night was democracy
Once Hard Core MAGA, He Now Sees Trump as a Wannabe Dictator
by Paul Glickman 15/6/25 DAILY KOS
Danny Collins’ family lived “pretty much in poverty” during his childhood in Fort Pierce, Florida in the ‘80s and ‘90s. When he was 9, he discovered that the woman he thought was his biological mother was in fact his stepmother. It turned out that his biological mom left when he
We’re all on the same team’: Inside the Alaska model for US politics
by Francine Kiefer 21/1/23 The Christian Science Monitor
When Democrat Mary Sattler Peltola went looking to hire a chief of staff, she chose someone with hands-on experience and a deep knowledge of her home state, Alaska. He was also a Republican. Alex Ortiz’s last job was serving in the same role for her predecessor, Don Young, a giant in the state who died in 2022 after setting a record for longest-serving Republican congressman in United States history.
New York City might elect a truly progressive mayor – thanks to ranked-choice voting
by Katrina Vanden Heuvel 18/6/25 The Guardian
With a week left until New York’s Democratic mayoral primary, one might have thought that the former governor Andrew Cuomo would be measuring the drapes at Gracie Mansion. Real estate developers, corporations like Doordash, a smattering of billionaires and even Billy Joel have shoveled cash into his campaign, with his Super Pac spending more money than any other outside force in the city’s political history. This is on top of his entering the race with major name recognition advantage, amounting to a 20- or 30-point lead as recently as May.
Biden-voting counties equal 70% of America’s economy
The Brookings Institute Mark Muro, Eli Byerly Duke, Yang You, and Robert Maxim November 10 2020
A similar analysis for last week’s election shows these trends continuing, albeit with a different political outcome. This time, Biden’s winning base in 477 counties encompasses fully 70% of America’s economic activity, while Trump’s losing base of 2,497 counties represents just 29% of the economy. (Votes are still outstanding in 110 mostly low-output counties, and this piece will be updated as new data is reported.) So, while the election’s winner may have changed, the nation’s economic geography remains rigidly divided. Biden captured virtually all of the counties with the biggest economies in the country (depicted by the largest blue tiles in the nearby graphic), including flipping the few that Clinton did not win in 2016.
By contrast, Trump won thousands of counties in small-town and rural communities with correspondingly tiny economies (depicted by the red tiles). Biden’s counties tended to be far more diverse, educated, and white-collar professional, with their aggregate nonwhite and college-educated shares of the economy running to 35% and 36%, respectively, compared to 16% and 25% in counties that voted for Trump.
The Electoral College’s Racist Origins
For centuries, white votes have gotten undue weight, as a result of innovations such as poll taxes and voter-ID laws and outright violence to discourage racial minorities from voting. (The point was obvious to anyone paying attention: As William F. Buckley argued in his essay “Why the South Must Prevail,” white Americans are “entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail, politically and culturally,” anywhere they are outnumbered because they are part of “the advanced race.”) But America’s institutions boosted white political power in less obvious ways, too, and the nation’s oldest structural racial entitlement program is one of its most consequential: the Electoral College.
Of course, the Framers had a number of other reasons to engineer the Electoral College. Fearful that the president might fall victim to a host of civic vices—that he could become susceptible to corruption or cronyism, sow disunity, or exercise overreach—the men sought to constrain executive power consistent with constitutional principles such as federalism and checks and balances. The delegates to the Philadelphia convention had scant conception of the American presidency—the duties, powers, and limits of the office. But they did have a handful of ideas about the method for selecting the chief executive. When the idea of a popular vote was raised, they griped openly that it could result in too much democracy. With few objections, they quickly dispensed with the notion that the people might choose their leader.
But delegates from the slaveholding South had another rationale for opposing the direct election method, and they had no qualms about articulating it: Doing so would be to their disadvantage. Even James Madison, who professed a theoretical commitment to popular democracy, succumbed to the realities of the situation. The future president acknowledged that “the people at large was in his opinion the fittest” to select the chief executive. And yet, in the same breath, he captured the sentiment of the South in the most “diplomatic” terms:
There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to fewest objections.
Which US states make it hardest to vote?
The hardest places to vote in America, considering the strictness of voter identification laws, voter roll purges and felon disenfranchisement.
Is America a democracy? If so, why does it deny millions the vote?
The United States is ranked 57th in electoral integrity in the world. Compared to other liberal democracies, it is ranked second to last.
These copycat bills on Sharia law and terrorism have no effect. So why do states keep passing them?
The use of copy-and-paste legislation – on topics as varied as asbestos liability and used car sales – is the subject of an investigation by USA TODAY, the Center for Public Integrity and The Arizona Republic. USA TODAY and the Republic found that at least 10,000 bills almost entirely copied from model legislation were introduced nationwide in the past eight years, and more than 2,100 of those bills were signed into law. In a separate analysis, the Center for Public Integrity identified tens of thousands of bills with identical phrases, then traced the origins of that language in dozens of those bills across the country.
How to Game the US Electoral System (Electoral College Version)
How to Game the US Electoral System by Kirk Garber 03/2019
The Electoral College has two major weaknesses as an electoral system so I simply calculated the worst case scenario assuming these two weaknesses were taken to their extreme.
1- It incentivizes voter suppression, so if only one person votes in a state, that person's choice receives all of the Electoral College votes. 2 It's formula for deciding how many Electoral Votes are allotted to each state favors small states over large states (by population). So---- if there is only one person from each of the 41 smallest states (including DC) voting and those 41 people all vote for Candidate #2, that candidate would receive 282 Electoral votes, enough to win the Presidency. It wouldn't matter if all the registered voters from the 10 largest states- 81,000,000 (vs 76,600,000 in the 41 smallest states with DC) vote for Candidate #1, their votes are tossed out.
