For all the early excitement stirred by the presidential primary contests, a greater test of democracy than the candidates’ cut-and-thrust will be voter participation, a vital statistic which dropped from 62.3 percent in 2008 to 57.5 percent in the last presidential election.Source: Entwining Two Rights in California: Voting and Driving...
Television is still the medium of choice for candidates and the increasingly influential super PACs, but there are growing questions about the effectiveness of such efforts.Source: A wave of 2016 ads are about to hit the airwaves. But do they work anymore?...
On September 11, Rick Perry dropped out of the Republican presidential race. He had been one of the five debaters set for the CNN September 16 debate at 6 p.m. That should mean there are now only four candidates in that debate: Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, and Lindsey Graham.Source: Rick Perry Drops Out of Republican Presidential Candidate, Leaving...
A Koch-funded, conservative Latino advocacy group has spoken out against Republican presidential candidates who have taken aggressive stances against immigration, namely Donald Trump. The rhetoric, said the group, crosses the line and goes against the country’s best interest.Source: Koch-Funded Group Says GOP Attacks On Immigrants Too Extreme...
Supreme Court justices don’t care what you think. They’re supposed to live in a vacuum where legal precedent and a small fraternity of attorneys guide their decisions. Their rulings have national — and sometimes international — implications.Source: Full Court Press: Kagan: Court doesn’t listen to public opinion...
On September 10, the California Senate passed AB 1461 by 25-15. Later on the same day, the Assembly passed it.Source: California Legislature Passes Bill for Automatic Registration, After Amending it to Protect Minor Parties...
SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge has ordered the Utah Republican Party and state officials to work to resolve a lawsuit over a new law changing how political parties nominate candidates. U.S.Source: Federal judge orders Utah and Republican Party to try to resolve election law lawsuit...
In a letter sent today to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, reform groups called on the IRS to end the misuse use of nonprofit groups to launder secret contributions into federal elections.Source: Reform Groups Call on IRS to End Misuse of Nonprofits to Launder Secret Contributions into Federal Elections...
Earlier this week, Hillary Clinton unveiled an ambitious and expansive “democracy revitalization” pillar to her 2016 presidential campaign platform.Source: Is Hillary’s New Campaign Finance Reform Plan the Real Deal?...
The process to get on the ballot varies greatly from state to state, creating a maze of requirements that campaigns must meet: petitions to be collected, signatures to be counted and notifications made to political parties, elections boards and state agencies.Source: “For Biden, calendar makes his 2016 decision tough to delay”...
