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Appellants in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the New Jersey primary structure filed a reply to the secretary of state’s opposition brief with the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. The EndPartisanship.org coalition reasserts its argument that because primary elections are an integral stage of the public election process, the state has an obligation to protect every voter’s fundamental right to equal and meaningful participation. Since March, when the EndPartisan

Late last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed resolution HR 758, which largely condemns Russia. However, it may also provide impetus for further confrontation between the United States and the world's largest country. Passing the House 411-10, the resolution condemns many of Russia's actions in recent years, including but not limited to the annexations of Crimea, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia. It also denounces Russia's material support of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and the d

On Tuesday, December 3, New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman filed an opposition brief with the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the EndPartisanship.org coalition's appeal. While the coalition argues that an equal and meaningful vote in all integral stages of the election process is a fundamental right, the state continues to argue that only Republicans and Democrats enjoy this right, even though this integral stage of the election is funded, administered, and sanctioned by

In Illinois' 15th Congressional District, veteran incumbent U.S. Representative John Shimkus, a Republican, is running against a lightly-funded Democratic challenger, Eric Thorsland. Taxes and jobs have dominated the candidates' talking points, and while both candidates have quite a bit of agreement, one issue has been generally neglected throughout the campaign: foreign policy. Midterm elections typically do not center on foreign policy -- with 2006 serving as a notable exception -- and this o

The main talk of the 2014 election has been which political party will control the Senate after the votes have been counted. Democrats have been on defense throughout most of the country as President Obama's approval rating remains low. So with just a week to go before Election Day, how will the numbers fall? Here are my predictions. In this election cycle, Democrats have 38 seats that are safe or not up for re-election while Republicans have 42. So that is where my numbers start.Democrats are

Illinois' 12th Congressional District has been one of the more closely watched races in the 2014 midterm elections. While each race is different, the contest between Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart and Republican challenger Mike Bost may be decided by the claims made in each candidate's ads about his opponent. However, the depiction of each respective candidate may leave voters with a picture that is less than whole. "Meltdown Mike," as Bost has become known, exploded in anger over last-minute

A new poll in the Illinois gubernatorial race has some good news for both major party candidates, but shows the race is in flux and is likely to be decided by independents. Commissioned by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, incumbent Governor Pat Quinn holds a slim lead over Republican challenger Bruce Rauner, 41 percent to 39 percent among registered voters. However, likely voters favor Rauner 42.4 percent to 40.7 percent. Both results are within the poll'

It is still unlikely that Libertarian Chad Grimm will become Illinois' 42nd governor, but as the only other choice on the ballot, his candidacy may soon take on a new phase. Republican Party nominee Bruce Rauner has long been considered suspect among the state's pro-life activists. In one instance, the newly-minted general election nominee skipped an Illinois Right-to-Life dinner and instead attended a pro-choice event for the ACLU. That suspicion increased over the weekend when Rauner's wife

As Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner receives unpleasant polling news, his state party may also face a federal investigation.A few weeks ago, the Illinois Libertarian Party (LP) qualified for statewide ballot access, but on Friday, Illinois LP candidate for attorney general, Ben Koyl, formally filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department. The complaint surrounds whether the Illinois Republican Party utilized intimidation tactics against

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 voting), the system will produce two major parties. The presence of third parties naturally encourages strategic voting, in which a voter will not choose his or her favorite candidate in order to avoid a “worse” outcome, such as the victory of his or her least preferred candidate. Though this law has