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OPINION: Forget Court Packing; We Need to Talk About Limiting Judicial Review
Judicial review does not appear in the Constitution. As former Justice Antonin Scalia admitted, “The Constitution of the United States nowhere says that the Supreme Court shall be the last word on what the Constitution means…"
28 Oct, 2020
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8 min read
Who’s Really Behind the Fight for Better Elections?
The democracy reform movement is having a moment right now. There are campaigns all across the country fighting gerrymandering, corruption, voter suppression, and plurality voting.
Because of this, we constantly get asked, “Who are you? And why are you advocating for approval voting instead of [insert preferred reform here]?” As a relatively new organization in the reform space, we thought it was time that we re-introduce ourselves to you.
We are The Center for Election Science, and here are t
27 Oct, 2020
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4 min read
Shutting Down The Two-Party Duopoly Is on the Ballot in 2020
On October 21, US billionaire businessman Mark Cuban tweeted that the duopoly he would shut down “in a nanosecond” if he could was the Republican and Democratic Parties, asserting that their anti-competitive collusion was detrimental to the American people every single day:
Cuban understands what activists and leaders in the nonpartisan reform space have known for a long time. The rules at every level of our political infrastructure were written to serve the interests of the Republican and De
23 Oct, 2020
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4 min read
Replacing Cash Bail: Fairer Justice or Robopocalypse?
California is either about to right decades of inequality between rich and poor defendants by eliminating cash bail, or it’s about to turn over its justice system to robots.
The question of what to do about the system that decides whether people should be free while awaiting trial will be determined by Proposition 25. The stakes, as explained by each side, are either ending an unjust system or relinquishing judicial authority to a pretrial assessment tool run on an algorithm.
If passed, Prop.
23 Oct, 2020
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5 min read
These 34 States Are Making Voting Easier ahead of November
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher.
Voting in the presidential election ends in 40 days, and states are still making adjustments to their rules and procedures.
The coronavirus pandemic, along with a wave of litigation from voting rights groups and Democrats, has resulted in 34 states deciding to make it easier to cast a ballot this fall — either voluntarily or as the result of a lawsuit. Most of
24 Sep, 2020
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4 min read
California Elections 2020: Proposition 17 - Voting After Prison
What is Proposition 17?
Proposition 17 is a constitutional amendment that would allow people on parole for felony convictions to vote in California.[1]
Currently, the California Constitution disqualifies people with felonies from voting until their imprisonment and parole are completed. The ballot measure would amend the state constitution to allow people with felonies who are on parole to vote; therefore, the ballot measure would keep imprisonment as a disqualification for voting but remove p
06 Sep, 2020
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3 min read
79% of State Legislative Incumbents Had No Primary Opposition this Year
In the 44 states with state legislative elections on Nov. 3, 2020, there are 5,875 state legislative seats on the ballot.
This year, 4,994 incumbents sought re-election.[3] 20.4% (1,017) had a contested primary. 79.6% (3,977) advanced to the general election without a primary challenge.
* 79.6% of incumbents seeking re-election this year advanced to the general election without a primary.
* 20.4% (1,107) of incumbents had a contested primary this year. This includes 20.6% of Democratic incum
04 Sep, 2020
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2 min read
Wide-Ranging Better Elections Amendment Removed from North Dakota Ballot
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher.
A sweeping election reform measure has been removed from the November ballot following a North Dakota Supreme Court ruling Tuesday.
The measure would have established an independent redistricting commission as well as other changes to the election process, if approved by voters. But the high court agreed with a lawsuit that claimed voters had been misled during
26 Aug, 2020
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2 min read
California Needs a Party That Stands for Common Sense
This is an independent opinion. Want to respond? Write your own commentary! Email hoa@ivn.us.
The Common Sense Party, a new political party being formed in California, stands for fiscal responsibility, social inclusivity and pragmatic decision-making.
The party has no checklist of positions to which adherence is demanded. Instead, a candidate must show that she or he makes decisions on the facts, not prejudice. People of good faith who disagree on any point can receive support of the Common S
24 Aug, 2020
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6 min read
Want to Vote By Mail? Anti-Corruption Group Launches Resource to Counter Disinformation and Confusion
FLORENCE, MASS. - Elections officials in the US are expecting a surge in absentee votes in the 2020 election as the US continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. To provide voters with the resources they need to request and send a ballot by mail, the national anti-corruption group RepresentUs launched a new toolkit to dispel disinformation and confusion ahead of November.
The interactive online tool, which launched Thursday, provides the information voters need in every state to vote absent
13 Aug, 2020
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2 min read
