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Surely you have heard of the "Varsity Blues" scandal, in which the rich and famous purchased "side door" entries to elite colleges for their children with mediocre academic and athletic skills. There were at least two ways they cheated: at two compromised testing centers in Los Angeles and Houston students were given preferential test administrations—alone with a proctor and extra time; and athletic coaches at elite schools were bribed to steer reserved admission slots for their sport to paying

The “wave” election swept in a few Democrats, but — like most U.S. elections — rolled over democracy’s basic premise that elections should offer meaningful competition and choices for voters. The newly published America Goes to the Polls report on the midterm’s certified voter turnout of the 50 states found the large majority of House elections were not competitive. Over 60% were uncontested or won by landslide margins of 20% or more. While the midterm did see more House seats contested compare

There are hundreds, literally hundreds of organizations and individual campaigns working right now to fix the myriad of problems that face our political and electoral processes -- from the local to the national levels. The organizations tackle voter rights, primary election reform, ballot access, gerrymandering reform, campaign finance reform, alternative voting methods, electing candidates outside the two major parties, and more. The following are 10 of the biggest organizations working to ref

WASHINGTON, DC - The sweeping electoral reform measures encompassed in H.R. 1 expanded even further with the addition of a ranked choice voting clause. Backers of the bill recently added language proposed by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md) who represents the district that includes FairVote’s national offices. The common sense change to the bill aims to help states and cities run ranked choice voting elections all the more efficiently by requiring funding for new voting systems to make use of RCV-

"If we don't band together to unrig the system, there will not be a country passed to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren..." - Josh Silver, Director of RepresentUs The largest gathering of nonpartisan activists, organizations, reformers is happening in Nashville, Tennessee on March 29-31: the Unrig The System Summit, hosted by RepresentUs and sponsored by many more. It follows a historic year in political and election reform, and the conversations that will happen at the event will large

The lead story in Wednesday’s Washington Post, was written by two reporters telling us what might happen to Democratic candidates running for president, in a race that doesn’t end until November 3, 2020 — a mere 615 days away. You might say I’m a political junkie, but I’m not reading speculative junk by two reporters about a subject I may know more about than they — if being in and around politics for 53 years counts for anything. As I’ve written, let the Democratic candidates run, and let med

“The establishment of democracy on the American continent was scarcely as radical a break with the (European) past as was the necessity, which Americans faced, of broadening the concept to include black men.”-  James Baldwin, "Notes of a Native Son" From the founding onward, race has been the American fulcrum, the nexus by which the country is united or divided, with the African American community pivotal in the long struggle for a broad-based inclusive American democracy. Race and place perpet

"There is such an appetite and an interest and a growing mainstream recognition that if we don't fix our system, we're going to get the same crappy results out of Washington." - John Opdycke, President of Open Primaries In the first episode of Toppling the Duopoly, I discuss future primary and election reform with Open Primaries President John Opdycke and long-time activist and Open Primaries spokesperson Dr. Jessie Fields, and the impact it could have on the 2020 elections. From the fringes t

The data is undeniable. You can see it in polls, voter registration statistics, and in most coffee shops. A substantial majority of voters, especially younger ones, want the option of choosing a candidate outside the two-party system. * According to a HarrisX poll last September, 66% of voters say neither party represents them. * Last October, a Gallup poll found that 57% of voters think a third party is needed. * And this January, Gallup found that 42% of voters consider themselves independ

You may have heard the story. In late December, it came out that leaders of the Women’s March made anti-Jewish remarks and had ties Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam. You can see the Women’s March press release in response. The story led to outrage, and the outrage led to the Democratic National Committee removing their support and a split march in New York. Additionally, marches in Humboldt, California and New Orleans, Louisiana were cancelled and the Washington State Chapter