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On my Chinese family's side, I'm a 4th generation American. On my English family's side, one of my distant great-grandfathers was the founder of Connecticut, Thomas Hooker. As someone with part of my family immigrating within the last few generations, Donald Trump Jr's comments on the 'bowl full of Skittles' was distasteful at best, outright historically dishonest at worst. Eventually, when looking at genealogy, all Americans were immigrants at one time or another, many with shady stories, but

Federal law states that foreign governments, corporations, and individuals cannot spend money on elections in the United States. Yet following the Citizens United decision in 2010, some – including President Obama himself – have worried that foreign money could have an easier time influencing American politics. An investigation by The Intercept released earlier this month shows that such foreign influence took place during the 2016 Republican primary race, and, moreover, explores whether that i

1. Both parties engage in and benefit from gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing district lines for partisan gain. In 2010, Republicans invested millions in statewide races to retake state legislatures for the purpose of controlling congressional redistricting. Since then, Republicans have created highly gerrymandered maps in states like North Carolina and Virginia. Democrats are guilty of gerrymandering as well: Maryland hosts some of the most contorted, gerrymandered districts in the count

Green Party signature coordinators across the country are reporting an influx of Bernie Sanders supporters to the Greens' campaign. How far the new momentum will take the party in the 2016 election is yet to be seen. The first order of business is to get the Greens recognized on state ballots, or at least to get Jill Stein, the presumptive presidential nominee, recognized as an independent presidential candidate. As of August 1 Several ballot access deadlines hit this week. In addition to the

FairVote has compiled and analyzed state-by-state data on voter turnout for the 2016 presidential primaries. Released today, it reviews trends in voter turnout nationally since 2000, as well as differences in turnout by party. Also included is a deeper analysis of the 23 states which held competitive primaries in both 2008 and 2016, exploring the effects of primary type (open, closed, or hybrid) and voter access laws. A full report can be downloaded from FairVote’s website. Record Breaking Rep

A recent poll shows that presumptive nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have record-high unfavorability ratings: 55 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Yet despite their unpopularity, the general electorate may not be exposed to third party candidates as an alternative. This is largely a result of the rules governing who is included in the presidential debates. According to guidelines set by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a candidate must poll at 15 percent to be invited

Now that the major parties have all but decided who their nominees will be – with the official nominations coming this July – leaders in both parties are eager to unify their respective bases and discourage voters from considering independent and third party alternatives. Yet this task will prove especially difficult this election season, as the presumptive nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, both have unfavorability ratings above 50 percent. Many members of both parties are dissatisfi

As of May 10th, 2016, more than 75% of states have held either presidential primaries or caucuses. FairVote has compiled the number of votes casts in state primaries for each candidate to this point, as well as the reported number of votes in state caucuses--though caucus numbers are less reliable than primary elections. Here is summary analysis of state presidential primary election voter turnout to this point in the nomination process. Primary Turnout in 2016 Compared to Contests in 2008 and

There is little doubt that the major national parties have, on the whole, behaved atrociously this election season. On the Republican side, there have been loyalty pledges, insubstantial RNC-arranged debates, and conversations about rule changes designed to thwart specific candidates. But the Democratic Party has not been guiltless. From undemocratically enfranchising unaccountable superdelegates at the national convention, to acting impartially by fundraising for one particular candidate and b

Zoom In: Frontrunners are full steam ahead in Acela Primary Last Tuesday, voters in the Acela Primary made their voices heard. Donald Trump swept the Republican primaries by large margins. In the wake of his first majority win in New York’s primary, Trump earned 56.7% in Pennsylvania with Ted Cruz in a distant second at 21.6%. Trump also won 57.9% in Connecticut, 60.8% in Delaware, 54.4% in Maryland, and 63.8% in Rhode Island. These latter large percentage point wins were followed by John Kasic