Outside the Beltway

A theory floated in Bush v Gore could radically change American elections.

What should conservatives who can’t support the party of Trump do?

The nature of American political reporting distorts our perception of reality.

How long can the unsustainable be sustained?

Could Alaska point the way to a solution?

They’re taking their eye off the ball.

When doing the right thing is the wrong thing.

A potentially more representative map that still underscores deep flaws in our system.

Greatest democracy in the world, right?

Data from Texas underscore a frequent point about primaries.

Two members of the presidential commission reach the conclusion that expansion is needed.

Politicians controlling lines control voters (instead of voters controlling politicians).

Democrats and Republicans are playing by different rules.

Representatives Choosing Their Voters Rather than Vice Versa, Chapter 412.

The erosion of representativeness continues.

A largely mythical beast may become even more rare.

Voters are suppose to choose elected officials, not the other way around.

The Biden administration is not doing enough.

We’re an incredibly divided country but splitting it into two is impossible.

The Democratic legislature is likely to set aside the map proposed by the independent commission.

The Lone Star State has enacted some peculiar new laws.

For anyone who might be interested.

Kinda, sorta, maybe, but probably not really.

Even the smartest designers can’t anticipate all the flaws with the rules they write.

And general considerations on mid-term elections.

A recent report shows 78 of 435 seats in the US House are truly competitive.

A quirk in our system combined with shrewd gamesmanship will give them unprecedented power.

Multiple indicators point to a decline in the representativeness of the American system.

Any “fair” drawing of districts will yield a GOP advantage over time.

And what GOP opposition says about the party.

America’s institutions are undemocratic but only some of them are a product of the Constitution.

Historical precedents fall apart when we’re in a truly unprecedented time.

The GOP will almost certainly survive. But in what form?

The party is unlikely to suffer consequences for its anti-democracy actions.

Arguments and analyses that are, well, turkeys.

Competing priorities.

A defense of the indefensible.

Institutional reform is necessary, but we can’t accomplish much in the face of tribalism.

Ok, so what should change?

The convergence of design flaws in the constitution and a flawed leader have brought us to brink of an electoral crisis.

It creates a veto gate that they are almost guaranteed to control when they need it.

The evidence is clear. Injustice feeds rage and rage sometimes boils over.

The Republicans are playing a different game.

The Supreme Court returns to work today with a significant number of high-profile cases on its docket.

But, our process to elect the president is highly flawed.

The Trump Administration has informed Federal District Court Judges in Maryland and New York that it intends to still try to justify putting a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

Change isn’t likely.

In a clear defeat for the Trump Administration, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the Federal Government could not ask about citizenship on the 2020 Census.

In a significant setback for challenges to partisan gerrymandering, the Supreme Court has effectively ruled that Federal Courts do not have jurisdiction to hear challenges to redistricting based on partisan motivations.

Democrats clashed, to some degree, in last night’s inaugural debate of the 2020 season but they clearly agreed far more than they disagreed.