Election Reform covers reforms like open and closed primaries, ranked choice voting, campaign finance, redistricting, and others that affect the quality of our representative democracy.
Election Reform
Texas Governor Greg Abbott wasted no time in escalating the state’s redistricting battle. Within two hours of the previous special session ending on August 15, Abbott called lawmakers back to Austin with instructions to deliver a new map.
Election Reform
On August 12, Republican California Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (San Diego) sent a letter to the Director of California's Legislative Counsel, Cara Jenkins, requesting a legal opinion on what he calls an “unconstitutional effort for mid-cycle redistricting.”
Election Reform
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Governor Gavin Newsom is finding out the hard way that Californians, especially independents, are not eager to hand politicians the keys to redistricting again. A brand new Citrin Center / UC Berkeley Possibility Lab / POLITICO poll shows independents oppose Newsom’s plan by a nearly three-to-one margin. Seventy-two
Election Reform
The Denver City Council voted 7-6 Monday to reject a measure that would add ranked choice voting to city elections. The decision means that voters will not have a chance to weigh in on the proposed reform.
Election Reform
California Democrats are getting ready for a fight they can’t win. And taxpayers will foot the bill for the privilege.
Election Reform
It is a classic political threat. Take one more step, and I will act. But this time, even though the target is Texas Republicans, it could easily turn out that California Democrats wind up taking the fall.
Election Reform
The nation’s attention is currently on the ongoing redistricting fight between Republicans and Democrats. The conversation is being framed: “Donald Trump is doing this.” “Gavin Newsom is doing that.” However, what voters are missing is the context of how we got here.
Election Reform
Gerrymandering wasn’t invented by Trump. It predates most states in the union. It’s named after Elbridge Gerry, who sliced up Massachusetts in 1812 to help his party, leaving behind a district so distorted it looked like a salamander.
Election Reform
Responding to pressure from President Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Republican-controlled legislature are moving forward with a plan to redraw their district lines in advance of the 2026 midterms. Democrats are contemplating how to fight back and blunt any gains the GOP makes in Texas by
Election Reform
It seems like the standoff in Texas over redistricting continues to escalate, as Governor Greg Abbott and other top Republicans want to see Texas Dems who have fled the state arrested and brought back so that they can redraw congressional lines.
Election Reform
Texas Republicans have threatened to redraw their maps to protect their party’s majority in Congress. California Democrats have, in turn, threatened to respond with their own mid-decade redistricting to “fight fire with fire.”
Election Reform
As Texas Republicans push forward with a controversial plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts, Democrats are weighing whether to deploy one of their most extreme forms of resistance: a quorum break.