elections

SCOTUS Seems Ready to Reject Independent State Legislature Idea in a Win for Democracy

by J. Michael Luttig

The retired federal jurist observed oral arguments in a case that would allow state legislatures to reject judicial review in setting the rules of elections, potentially leading to politically-motivated mayhem in federal elections. He thinks that the Court will reject the theory. 

The Legacy of Charlene Mitchell: The First Black Woman Presidential Candidate

by Alyssa Spinosa and Adam Arenson

Although Charlene Mitchell's candidacy with the Communist Party gained few votes, her campaign reflected an effort to advance a critique of capitalism that addressed the American context of racial inequality and oppression. 

Fear Was on the 2022 Ballot, with More in Store for '24

by Joe Renouard

Political advertising in the midterm campaigns focused on fear. There's little reason to expect anything different in two years. 

The Racist Origins of Georgia's Runoff System

by Steven F. Lawson

Runoff elections were installed in Georgia to ensure that Black voters could not elect their preferred candidates, allowing white voters a second chance to consolidate support around white candidates. 

Where the Red Wave that Wasn't Fits in the History of Elections

by Olivia B. Waxman

Political scientists find that the prediction of a wave election failed for a number of reasons. 

Human Beings Make Elections Work – Were You Kind to Poll Workers Today?

by Amel Ahmed

Overworked, underpaid, and now harassed and even threatened: election workers are the backbone of democracy and the nation can't afford to have them pushed out of their jobs. 

Are the Dems in for a 2010-Style Shellacking?

by Cary Heinz

The Tea Party wave in the 2010 midterms was an extreme example of the generally poor showing for the president's party in the midterms; will 2022 follow suit? 

Rigged Elections: A Real New York Story

by Jim Sleeper

New York City's political history shows that brazen attempts to rig elections didn't emerge with Team Trump. 

"Independent State Legislature" Legal Theory Based in Fake History

Charles Pinckney's ideas for the Constitution were rejected by the framers. Years later, he produced fake documents to aggrandize his own role at the convention. Right-wing legal activists have used them to argue that state legislatures can decide election results however they want. 

Rick Hasen: Moore v. Harper and its Potential Impact on Elections

Major dark money donors have pushed a case to the Supreme Court that could allow state legislatures to overturn the will of voters to decide statewide elections and electoral college votes, says election law expert Rick Hasen. 

Alex Keyssar on the Need to Reform the Electoral Count Act

The Electoral Count Act imposed after the contested election of 1876 leaves potential loopholes for a minority faction to override the will of voters and hijack the electoral college. Is proposed bipartisan legislation enough to fix it? 

Irwin Gellman Asks: Did JFK Steal Victory in the "Campaign of the Century"?

by Justin P. Coffey

Irwin Gellman's latest volume in his political history of Nixon argues the 1960 election returns in Illinois and Texas were rigged for Kennedy. A reviewer finds the case is intriguing but falls short of solid proof, though it does resonate with charges of stolen elections and media favoritism that are all too familiar today. 

Of Course the Federal Government Can Regulate Elections

by Heather Cox Richardson

The Constitution not only enables, but requires the federal government to act when state authority violates the principles of democracy, something President Harry Truman realized in 1946.

Gaming Elections is a Conservative Political Tradition

by John S. Huntington

"Conservatives have spent generations attempting to exploit arcane and anti-democratic electoral structures to carve a pathway for minoritarian rule."

Too Often, Politicians Pick Their Voters

by Warren E. Milteer Jr.

Political factions and then organized parties have fought over the size, composition and geographical ordering of the electorate since the founding. This legacy today undermines the legitimacy of government and the political will to protect the right to vote. 

Richard Pildes: Our Elections are Too Frequent for Democracy to Work

by Richard Pildes

The legal scholar argues that the Framers' belief in frequent Congressional elections has resulted in time for governing being squeezed out by campaigning. 

The Wondrous Banality of Democracy

by John Witt

A professor of law and legal history volunteered as a ballot counting observer in Pennsylvania and offers a reflection on the unspectacular nature of democracy in action. 

Elections Don’t Have to Be So Chaotic and Excruciating

by Stephen I. Vladeck

A uniform procedure for publicizing the vote count can eliminate the chaos of haphazard vote counts and remove the opportunity for candidates to portray the normal process of counting votes as irregular or crooked. 

A Disputed Election Delivered 3 governors to Georgia – at the Same Time

by John A. Tures

As election results continue to come in around the country, it’s worth recalling that once, the state of Georgia found itself with a dead governor-elect – and three politicians who each insisted he was the real governor.

There Have Been Relatively Few Post-Election Riots in American History. So Far.

Bruce Shulman of Boston University identified riots after William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan in 1896 as one of the few instances of rioting directly inspired by an election.