Thoughts on the US Presidential Primary System

The system isn’t very good.

On Parties

Because I think it is really important.

An Observation about American Democracy

The ongoing Republican debacle and what it says about representative democracy in the US.

A Different Democracy, Indeed

A trip through comparative democratic reform.

Argentine Presidential Elections Start Today

The first of a potential three rounds.

Federal Court Declares Portion of Mississippi’s Constitution Unconstitutional

Permanent felon disenfranchisement is unconstitutional.

On Hand-Counting of Ballots

It’s a really bad method

Podcast Recommendation

Matthew Shugart on the Downballot.

Finland’s Ordinary Election

A refreshing instance of normal democratic politics amid interesting times.

On the Number of Parties 4: The Oddity of Two, Part 3 (Thinking About Just Two)

A post about thinking in a comparative way.

On the Number of Parties 4: The Oddity of Two, Part 1

A real example of American exceptionalism.

On Spurious Majorities and Other Thoughts on Electoral System Critiques

Because sometimes the comment box is just too small.

Alaska Voters Had Real Choices and Made Them

Every vote counted, with refreshing results.

Voting Alone is Not Democracy

Putin provides an example for a Politics 101 class.

Sarah Palin, Ranked Choice Voting, and the Perils of N=1 Analysis

More details from the Alaska special election.

The Lack of Competition for House Seats

Yet another reminder of the pathologies of American institutions.

Fixing the Primary Problem

Could Alaska point the way to a solution?

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Q&A Time

Hopefully answering a reader question (but probably just making it all worse).

Multiparty Presidentialism

No, presidentialism does not lock us into two parties.

America’s Four Parties

Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans truly represent most Americans. Fixing that is exceedingly unlikely.

Elections with Foregone Conclusions

Greatest democracy in the world, right?

On the Number of Parties 3: More Sophisticated Counting

The effective number of parties.

On the Number of Parties 2: Basic Counting, Part 2

This time: some multi-party examples.

Podcast Recommendation

Arend Lijphart on the “Peaceful Political Revolution in America” podcast.

On the Number of Parties 1: Basic Counting, Part 1

Counting is not necessarily as straightforward as it may seem.

A Republic, not a Constitutional Monarchy

Barbados provides an illustration of a frequently misunderstood concept.

Canada and Single-Seat Plurality Elections

Canada has more parties than the US, but still suffers representation problems due to FPTP elections.

“A Republic, not a Democracy” Redux

The Strzok hearing provides a return to this timeworn favorite.

A “Republic v. Democracy” Lexicon

Concepts, basic applications, and even a bibliography! Merry Festivus, everyone.

Madison’s Defintion(s) of Republic

More on the whole “republic not a democracy” discussion.