Articles about polling, voting, fundraising, and representation.
The first bill Democrats introduced after gaining control of the House in the 2018 midterms (H.R. 1, the For the People Act) is an expansive voting reform package clearly signaling that reforming the US electoral system is an important priority. The sweeping legislation proposes a
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The Supreme Court occupies an unusual niche in the public imagination. Over decades of polling, Americans have expressed significant faith in the American federal judicial system — more faith, at least, than they have for comparable federal institutions. Since the 1970s, the percentage of Americans
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For months or years leading up to November’s elections, Americans across the country called, canvassed, and petitioned their way onto state ballots. These individuals and groups were taking advantage of state laws that permit citizens themselves to propose and decide on policy initiatives— a form
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As voters head to the polls for early voting, the landscape of the midterms remains far from secure for either party. Although the odds of Democrats taking the House has stayed relatively high, control of the Senate remains a guessing game. Fundraising numbers have skyrocketed
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Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election defied the predictions of most well-known pollsters, who had estimated Clinton’s likelihood of winning in the 70 to 99 percent range. After Trump’s win, many headlines suggested that the polls had failed, and the
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With November’s general elections four months away, both parties are gearing up for an election that might propel Democrats to a majority – or might not. The House has attracted the most attention: Democrats need to pick up only 23 Republican-held seats in the 435-seat
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In November, voters from southwest Pennsylvania will vote for a congressional candidate for the second time this year. Instead of a Republican incumbent, which they’ve had for the past 15 years, the incumbent will be Democrat Conor Lamb. He recently beat Republican Rick Saccone in
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“All politics is local.” So said former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil. The phrase means that, to succeed in politics, a politician must appeal to the mundane, everyday, and indeed local concerns of his or her constituents. But political analyst Charlie Cook, who
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Campaign finance has received more than its usual attention recently with the revelation that the Russian government spent at least $100,000 on political Facebook ads surrounding the 2016 election. This episode highlights just how unprepared we are to regulate campaign finance in the digital age.
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