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Recently, Real Clear Politics extrapolated demographic trends to project which states are likely to gain or lose U.S. House seats in the reapportionment that will occur after the 2020 Census. Their forecast, shown below, has nine states losing one U.S. House seat and six states gaining seats. These are only projections, but given that we are now six years into the decade, many of the demographic shifts of the decade are already well advanced and difficult to reverse. Overall, we see a reduced n

For those who have paid close attention to President Barack Obama’s national energy policy, Sunday’s decision to deny the already approved permits to finish construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline came as little surprise. Last year, President Obama issued an executive order that killed the Keystone XL pipeline, despite the fact his own State Department issued a report stating the pipeline would have no impact on carbon emissions and would not harm the environment. Of the numerous political

The court ruling to end extreme political gerrymandering in Wisconsin may have reverberations in neighboring Illinois. As IVN previously reported, the Wisconsin Republican Party was free to draw districts which ensured the GOP would retain a majority of legislative seats. A 2-1 federal court decision overturned the precedent that it is permissible to dilute the power of voters based on political party. The Wisconsin attorney general has announced his intention to appeal the decision. The case

Illinois is one step away from becoming the seventh state to institute automatic voter registration. In August, Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed Illinois Senate Bill 250, an automatic voter registration bill. The Illinois Senate Thursday overrode the Republican governor’s veto 38-18. The Illinois House is expected to vote on overriding the governor’s veto after Thanksgiving. Illinois Senate Bill 250 automatically registers individuals to vote when they conduct business at state agencies, such as a

This election was historic for the movement to break big money’s grip on our political system. On November 8, 2016, voters in South Dakota passed the first-ever statewide Anti-Corruption Act. This ballot initiative was led by Represent.Us volunteers and members. In San Francisco, a Represent.Us volunteer-led coalition passed a new law to stop lobbyists from bribing politicians. It passed by one of the widest margins of any law in San Francisco history. In two Illinois counties, conservatives a

Last Monday, FairVote released our 2016 general election presidential campaign tracker. This tracker, which has been regularly used this fall by National Popular Vote, looks at where major party candidates for president and vice-president have been rallying their supporters at events that are open to the public, free and intended to influence local voters. Our data for the tracker is based on local news reports and the campaigns’ public schedules. As anyone familiar with current Electoral Colle

Illinois US Senator Mark Kirk may be the most vulnerable Republican senator running for re-election in 2016. His contentious relationship with his party highlights the frustration many Illinoisans have over the electoral options in this race. Yet Kirk’s own words in a debate further hurt his chances and illustrated the consequence of having few voices on stage. Kirk and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, last Thursday debated in Springfield, Illinois. After Duckworth describe

Despite obtaining more than half a million petition signatures to put a redistricting reform amendment on the Illinois ballot in November, legal challenges kept the measure off the ballot. The effects of having partisan maps are likely to be evident when Illinois votes in three weeks. The Independent Map Amendment sought to institute an independent panel of eleven to draw districts and eliminate gerrymandering. The panel would have included Republicans, Democrats, and a pool selecting the remai

Gerrymandering is nearly as old as America itself, named after James Madison’s vice president and governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry. The advantageous practice of drawing legislative districts along partisan lines may seem unfair, but thanks to the support from the two major parties it has remained part of the status quo for over 200 years. That has diminished the number of competitive races and creates more partisan legislatures, both on a state and national level. Like with any governm

A U.S. Supreme Court decision last week will keep an independent candidate in Illinois off the November ballot. The high court denied independent David Gill's request to vacate an order by a lower appeals court to leave him off the ballot in Illinois' 13th congressional district. The ruling effectively ends Gill's campaign. The only two names that will appear on the November 8 ballot are Democrat Mark Wicklund and incumbent Republican Rodney Davis. Gill previously filed a lawsuit to appear on