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As the new year gets underway, state legislatures around the country are convening to tackle the issues of the day. In at least nine states, electoral reform is on the agenda. Building on the momentum of historic wins for ranked choice voting in Maine and Benton County, Oregon, lawmakers from Massachusetts to Hawaii have introduced bills that would expand its use in their states. The bills vary in their scope and history. Bills in Virginia and Connecticut would adopt ranked choice voting for al

The Commission on Presidential Debates, or CPD, has been under fire for its policies for several years now. For the past 24 years, the CPD has excluded anyone but the Republican and Democratic nominees from participating in the three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate in September and October before the election. An important lawsuit, Level the Playing Field, et al. v. Federal Election Commission, goes before a federal judge on Jan. 5. That suit seeks to accomplish what the C

The President-elect’s Cabinet appointments have dominated the news cycle, which only begs the question: What do these departments and offices actually do? The Cabinet is included in the Constitution, under Article II, Section 2, where it states: “The President...may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices.” The Cabinet consists of the heads of departments of government a

The freedom of speech and expression is not just a core tenant of the American way of life, it is the principle that allows our democracy to function and flourish. The great diversity of people, religions, and creeds that make up the United States of America peacefully coexist because of the constitutional guarantee that we, as Americans, can express opinions that dissent from the majority's view without fear of reprisal or censorship by the government. The rapid expansion of readily available

There's a lot that American voters may be divided over, but there's one issue that hopefully we can all get together on and embrace a nonpartisan, obvious, and sane position. Demonstrators who have been blocking traffic on streets and highways as part of your protests: please stop! Stop the madness now. The vast majority of the 63 million people who voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election have not been out blocking traffic, which is why this is something that we can hopefully all

In 2018, 33 US Senate seats, or one-third of the US Senate, will be up for election. Eight incumbents are Republicans, but each of their states routinely vote Republican and so they are unlikely to face serious competition. At this early date, the following five Democratic incumbents appear to hold the most vulnerable US Senate seats. #1. Claire McCaskill – Missouri With Republican candidates winning the state’s races for presidency, governor, and US Senate, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called

Editor's note: This article was written by Tom Nussbaum and Chris Micheli. Just over a century ago in California, the initiative process was proposed by Progressives, the labor movement, and others as a means of addressing a Legislature which was perceived to be under the control of the Southern Pacific railroad and other special interests. In 1911, the California voters followed the recommendation of Progressive Governor Hiram Johnson and California became the tenth state to enact the initiati

With only a few short days left in this presidential election cycle, it's always interesting to look at the political axioms, however odd or strange, to see how each candidate is doing. While these axioms are not by any means determinants of the election, some have political insight -- while others are absurdly fun to consider. 1. High Prices at the Pump Hurt the Incumbent Party This is more of a new political axiom, for decades the prices of oil and gasoline held steady or at least paced wi

Game one of the World Series last night was a blowout, as the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-0. So that was not fun if you’re a Cubs fan, as I am through the World Series. I also texted Theo Epstein Saturday night in the 7th inning, while the Cubs were beating the LA Dodgers 5-0 at Wrigley, and I wrote that his team would win four straight. So, while that’s still possible, it’s not probable. Thus, the savant I became in ’13, predicting to the exact number of games everything that w

Today, the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians will face off in game one of the World Series, highlighting 108- and 68-year droughts, respectively, since either claimed a title. The world has changed a lot since the Cubs lost to the Detroit Tigers in 1945 and the Indians defeated the Boston Braves in 1948. That got us wondering what Congress was up to way back then. Here’s what we found: The Last Time the Cubs Competed for a Title: 1945 World War II was drawing to a close, and President Frank