Search query: virginia

Of all the silly things that people say after a shooting incident like the one this week in Virginia, the silliest thing of all is, “don’t politicize the tragedy.”Of course, people who say this don’t really mean it. What they mean is something more like, “Don’t say political things about the tragedy that I don’t agree with.” The side that usually responds this way usually has no problem politicizing other tragedies, when the said politicization works better with the beliefs it actually holds. B

While Congress has twice mandated the use of single-member districts (SMD) for electing members of Congress (once in 1842 and again in 1967), state legislatures are at liberty to determine how their representatives will be elected. According to FairVote, at one time, more than half of all state legislators were elected from multi-member districts (MMD). Fifty years ago, more than two-thirds of states had at least some multi-member districts. Today, that number has dropped to just ten: Vermont

In many regards, modern American democracy is dysfunctional -- especially at the national level. Congress is mired in gridlock; passing few laws that align with what the American people want. That gridlock arises from a more fundamental issue: Congress is not an accurate representation of our population. The way in which we elect Congress urgently needs reforming. One very basic reform to the way we currently elect House members is to move from a single-winner system to a multi-winner one. Evid

The first round of the Republican primary debates will be held Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The field of Republican presidential candidates stands at 17, but only 10 will be included in the primetime debate at 9pm ET, while the other seven will compete in an undercard debate at 5pm ET. The 10 candidates who will appear at the prime-time debate are: Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, retired n

California's existing election system for Congress and state office could be improved with the following ideas. The problem with the status quo is that ever since it went into effect in 2011, there has been very limited choice on the November ballot. So far, no independent or minor party candidate has appeared on the November ballot for statewide office. Each statewide office in November has been between one Democrat and one Republican, with no write-in space. In November 2014, California vote

One of the more anticipated campaigns for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination has seemingly dropped from the national conversation and is struggling to raise money. Called "The Most Interesting Man in the Senate" by Reason magazine, Rand Paul has built his Senate career on filibustering extrajudicial assassinations and opposing the security state.In the last year, Paul consistently polled close to presumptive leader Jeb Bush. However, as the field has widened, the Rand Paul campaign ha

Florida's Supreme Court struck down much of the state's congressional districting map on July 9, ordering the redrawing of what it termed "constitutionally invalid" districts in 2 of the 27 districts (requiring a change to 8 congressional districts). Each district represents about 710,000 voters, making this one of the most significant court cases ever involving the practice of gerrymandering. In 2010, Florida's voters overwhelmingly approved (62.9%) a constitutional amendment with some of the

He won't likely get much attention from the mainstream media, but one-term U.S. senator and former Navy secretary Jim Webb launched his presidential campaign on Thursday. Webb made the announcement on his campaign website and brings the total number of Democratic presidential candidates to five. USA Today reports: "After many months of thought, deliberation and discussion, I have decided to seek the office of the Presidency of the United States," he wrote. In his statement, Webb acknowledged t

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of independent redistricting commissions to redraw electoral districts. The ruling was a major victory for voters, because it also validated the citizen initiative process and the voter's right to decide how they are governed. But the legal battle over redistricting is far from over. Politico reported Tuesday that major litigation remains in key battleground states ahead of the 2016 elections. Continued redistrictin

Since the movement launched in 2006, National Popular Vote has made significant progress to reform the way Americans elect their president. The group's plan involves a state-by-state approach. States that join the National Popular Voter Interstate Compact (NPVIC) agree that rather than having their electors cast their ballots for president according to whichever candidate won the most votes in their respective states, the electors will instead vote for the candidate who won the most votes natio