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FairVote on June 12 released Government of the Few in the “Decided Dozen" -- Frozen Representation and the Distorted Demographics of Decisive Primary Elections. Report authors Andrew Douglas and Zack Avre zero in on the “Decided Dozen”—12 states where control over the state legislature and the outcome of the great majority of general election races is never in doubt, leaving the only meaningful choices and power to voters in low turnout, unrepresentative primary contests. Source: FairVote: The

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a Republican serving in that office since 2008, is expected to announce his presidential campaign on June 24. While there is often preference among voters for governors over legislators in a potential chief executive, the following are quotes from Jindal on five topics regarding foreign policy, national security, and civil liberties. #1. The War in Iraq Before serving as governor, Jindal served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although not in of

We have all seen it, a slew of contestants vying for the attention and affection of an eligible suitor. Welcome to The Bachelor: U.S. Presidential Primary addition, where the contestants are candidates and the prize is a billionaire willing to shower the lucky winner with an endless supply of campaign cash. Look, there is nothing new about insanely wealthy interests getting involved in national politics -- I'm looking at you, Kennedys, Roosevelts, and Rockefellers. Hell money in politics is pra

A presidential candidate is calling for the release of 28 pages from the 9/11 Commission Report that could alter the race and the way Americans view the event. Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate, will introduce the Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Victims Act this week alongside Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). Wyden has allied with the Kentucky Republican previously on privacy and government secrecy issues. The legislation would declassify 28 redacted pages of the rep

On May 12, voters in the first congressional district of Mississippi went to the polls to vote for a new member of Congress in the wake of the unfortunate death of U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee. Grounded in the U.S. Constitution, no person has ever served in the U.S. House without being elected, so Mississippi needed to fill the seat with a vacancy election. Mississippi has an admirable law governing special elections in its inclusiveness, but it would be all the better if combined with ranked-choice

If Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wasn't a favorite among gay rights activists and supporters of marriage equality, she certainly is now. As The Guardian reported Tuesday, her stance on the issue is not surprising as she is commonly perceived as one of the court's more liberal justices. Yet what she had to say silenced even her conservative colleagues on the bench and may have a profound impact on how the court ultimately rules: "“Marriage today is not what it was under the common la

Editor's note: The article below initially said that Nebraska does not have a top-two system, which is true for many of its elections. However, it does have a form of top-two for state legislative races and the article has been updated to clarify this fact. FLORIDA -- The New Times Broward-Palm Beach reported Friday that a nonpartisan group, All Voters Vote Inc., will be leading a petition drive to get the top-two primary on the 2016 general election ballot in Florida. All Voters Vote Inc., a

On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists dressed as Indians boarded three British cargo ships to destroy 342 cases of tea -- a "tea party" over a 90 percent tax cut. Tea throughout the Empire had been taxed at 30-pence a pound, which had been reduced to 3-pence a pound in the colonies to combat sluggish sales and smuggling. But that wasn't good enough; we wanted tax-free tea. From the very beginnings of the Republic, Americans have hated taxes. Looking at modern political discourse, one woul

In 2010, voters approved Proposition 14. This measure fundamentally changed California’s partisan primaries conducted under rules determined by private political parties into a nonpartisan system in which the purpose of the primary became a public one in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election. This change has empowered millions of California voters with a meaningful opportunity to affect the outcome of elections in California. Nonpartisan voters ar

Taxpayer-funded party primaries may soon be a thing of the past in Mississippi, if a recent report from a state-sponsored study group means anything. Convened by Mississippi’s secretary of state, the 50-member panel endorsed the top-two model for primary elections in mid-January, but stopped short of backing any immediate change for fear that it could confuse election workers. As a group, the panel didn’t have any formal legislative or policymaking authority, so any change in how Mississippia