Articles by Kevin Johnson

For a democracy to function, one simple, central fact must be clear to all: who won. There is no disagreement about the winner of the Super Bowl or the Olympic gold medal in the shot put, and the same should be true for election results. But in polarized America, we’ve lost that clarity and public consensus.

Imagine a judge learning that the trial she’s just been assigned involves criminal charges against her husband’s company or a lawsuit against her child. It’s clear what would happen: The judge would recognize that she faces a conflict of interest and recuse herself from the case.

Perhaps it is not surprising that Friday’s vote on HR1, the omnibus election reform bill, broke strictly along partisan lines...