election reform

Can We Get Some Small-d Democracy?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:17 -0500

by Katrina vanden Heuvel

I have long advocated for a strong pro-democracy agenda to repair and strengthen our broken electoral system. The needs are many--from creating an Election Day holiday, to requiring voting machines that produce a voter-verified paper trail, to re-enfranchising former felons who have served their sentences, to public campaign financing.

Tightening the Corporate Grip: The Stakes at the Supreme Court

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:23:29 -0400

by Robert Weissman

Can things get still worse in Washington?

Yes, they can. And they will, if the Supreme Court decides for corporations and against real human beings and their democracy in a case the Court will be hearing today, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Health Care Tyranny by 13 Obstructionists

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:18:27 -0400

by David Sirota

For those still clinging to quaint notions of the American ideal, these have been a faith-shaking 10 years. Just as evolutionary science once got in the way of creationists’ catechism, so has politics now undermined patriots’ naive belief that the United States is a functioning democracy.

Supreme Court Pulls Teeth From the Voting Rights Act

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:17:26 -0400

by John Nichols

Once an election is done, it is hard to undo.

That's true in Iran, and it's also true in the United States.

This is why it is important to get the rules by which elections are held right before elections are held.

For this reason, one of the essential components of the Voting Rights Act -- arguably its most powerful tool for combating discrimination and disenfranchisement -- has long been a requirement that officials get approval from the Department of Justice before they change the way in which elections are conducted.

Election Reform: Follow the Money

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:04:02 -0400

by Hank Kalet

"As an elected official, I think I am the only person I know of who is supposed to take large amounts of money from private individuals who very much want me to do a certain thing and then act as if they haven't given it to me, to ignore the money. I'm supposed to be a perfect ingrate and that's hard to do, given human nature." Barney Frank, D-Mass. During a 2006 interview with Etopia Media

Broken Elections

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 08:53:49 -0500

by Blair Bobier

On Tuesday, Los Angeles reached a new, all-time low for voter turnout in a mayoral election. Contrary to the claim in a L.A. Times editorial that the abysmally low voter turnout was not "bottom scraping," the thirteen percent turnout was in fact as bottom of the barrel as it gets. Sure, it could get lower-but it hasn't before.

"Bottom scraping" or not, thirteen percent voter turnout for a mayoral election is hardly cause for civic celebration.

'Patriot Dollars' to Reform Politics

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:20:11 -0500

by Pamela L. Finmark and William D. Chalmers

We raised money -- $100 million over the last 17 years -- for candidates and ballot initiatives. Known as "fortune tellers," we "delivered" big bags of "doughnuts" (campaign contributions) to our clients -- sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. And as reformed sinners, we are here to tell you that the current system is not just broken, it is irrevocably broken.