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We are staring down the barrel of one of the ugliest general elections for president of our lifetime, and many of us are wondering about our lack of choice. Like it or not, we Americans have just two parties that have elected all of our presidents since 1860, and they each put up one candidate. So it follows that about a year ago, 20 candidates running for president each chose one of these two parties, whether they liked that party or not. On the Republican side, 17 candidates with disparate p

As we stare down the barrel of one of the ugliest general elections for president of our lifetime, maybe a look back at what brought us to this point would be worthwhile. During the primaries, it was quite a spectacle on the Republican side, as 17 “Republican” candidates shoe-horned themselves into the Grand Old Party.  To be viable, these candidates were forced to choose one of the two parties that have elected all of our presidents since 1860. As the GOP primaries progressed, political pundit

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

“Americans vote for their president.” Well, yes and no. America’s presidential election system relies on the Electoral College, a group of men and women chosen by state parties to vote in their favor. When Americans go to the polls, they choose their candidate of choice, and trust that the party electors will vote as the citizens have chosen. Each state has a certain number of electors: California has the most, with 55; other states, like Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska, have as few as three. The

Days after Brits voted to leave the EU, what will actually happen is far from certain. Millions have signed a petition for a second referendum, which Prime Minister David Cameron claims won't happen. Leading Brexit proponent Sean Grady argues that Britain won't actually leave anyway, as too many Brits fear they'll be unable to weather the short-term pain that will precede any anticipated long-term gain. Either way, the referendum was not legally binding so there are a number of options. Presum

Anger with the state government and national politics has inspired more competition in Kansas, both from Democrats and independents, threatening to change the election map by jeopardizing one of the reddest states. According to the Kansas Democratic Party, they are fielding candidates in the U.S. Senate race, 4 of 5 U.S. House races, all 40 state senate races, and about 75% of the 125 state house races. This represents one of the most active election seasons from the Democrats, challenging more

On Tuesday, May 24, voters across the state of Texas were asked to return to the polls for several runoff elections. These runoffs--where the top two vote-getters from the primary election face off-- were triggered when no candidate received a majority of votes in that election. This year, Texas paid for statewide runoff elections for both parties’ nominee for railroad commissioner, as well as runoffs to decide party nominees in various U.S. House and state legislative districts, among other po

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

As is the nature of a federal republic, all too often major presidential elections come down to just a handful of states. This year, it's beginning to look like ten states will make or break the presidential bids for the White House: The Democrats have a slight lead in the secure electoral votes. Being able to consistently claim California is definitely a major boost. But this year's battleground map has some interesting quirks; namely, that both Trump and Clinton did very well in most of thes

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