Search query: Illinois

One of the fundamental laws of psephology (the study of elections) is Duverger’s Law. This “law” affirms that in single-member districts, where the winner is whoever wins the most votes (plurality vot ...

Recently, the Illinois State Board of Elections issued important rulings concerning third-party ballot access and electoral reform in the November elections.For Illinois, a state already synonymous wi ...

The shooting death of an unarmed black civilian by a white police officer this month has made Ferguson, Mo., a flashpoint for some of the most divisive issues in America today.Reports show that Michae ...

1. Ralph Nader criticizes the use of "spoiler" to describe independent and third-party candidates and how the major parties treat these candidates to maintain their dominance in elections."Remember th ...

There are three methods of proportional representation advocates most commonly present: cumulative voting, limited voting, and ranked-choice voting. Each has been used in the United States, mainly in ...

As IVN contributor AJ Signieri described in June, third parties in Illinois struggle to secure a place on the state’s general election ballots. If a party’s nominee for governor does not cross the 5 p ...

Despite consistently low approval ratings of Congress, candidates outside the Democratic and Republican parties have faced an uphill battle gaining enough exposure and credibility to get elected.Since ...

1. Illinois Times runs op-ed saying open primaries and redistricting reform would help ease partisan gridlock in Washington."Open primaries would help moderate the nation’s politics, as would bipartis ...

According to a Washington Post Election Lab projection from May 2014, an incumbent in 405 of the 435 House contests has a 90 percent chance or greater of winning his or her seat, leaving only 30 ...

In Illinois, a Republican challenger recently announced the formation of a small business coalition he hopes will carry him to an upset victory in November.Currently a representative in the General As ...