The Presidential Campaign Mercifully Heads Into the Homestretch
Plus: Biden should stop bragging about the Violence Against Women Act, Trump should stop bragging about tariffs, and more...
Campaigns/Elections
Libertarian Lawmakers or Libertarian Laws?
Advancing laws that further libertarian objectives, no matter who champions them, looks like the surer route to our preferred ends.
Efforts To Limit Ballot Drop-Off Boxes Are Cynical Electoral Gamesmanship
Across 14 states that track party affiliations of absentee-ballot-voters, 56 percent of mail-in votes have been cast by Democrats and only 23 percent have been cast by Republicans.
How Will Reason Staffers Vote in 2020?
A survey of presidential preferences and regrets
Both Pence and Harris Dodged the Only Important Question at the Vice Presidential Debate
Under what circumstances would these two potential vice presidents feel comfortable taking over? The country deserves to know.
Don't Buy Trump's Conspiracy Theories About Ballots Being Dumped in Rivers
There are many unique challenges facing election officials this year, but widespread malfeasance isn't one of them.
Election 2000: The Last Holiday-from-History Election
"Do we have a president yet?" we laughed.
Last Night's Debate Was a Disaster. That's Exactly Why There Should Be More of Them.
After the trainwreck that was the first Biden-Trump debate, some people will likely call for future debates to be canceled. America needs the exact opposite.
Sixth Circuit Rejects Claim Covid-19 Requires Easing of Ballot Initiative Rules
Two constitutional rights plus one outside catalyst do not equal one constitutional wrong.
Will Pennsylvania Be the Florida of the 2020 Election?
If so, Republicans, Democrats, the state legislature, the state Supreme Court, and Gov. Tom Wolf will all share the blame.
Trump Wants More Stimulus Spending. Biden Wants a National Mask Mandate. Both Are Wrong.
Is it too much to ask for a presidential candidate who cares about America's fiscal health and respects the limits of his office?
The Persistent Myth of Widespread Voter Fraud
The nation's leading GOP election attorney throws cold water on election fraud claims
Congress Could Postpone the Electoral College To Prevent Election Chaos
Voting during COVID means "we are not going to know who won this on election night," Utah's Republican gubernatorial nominee warns. Postponing post-election deadlines can help.
'America's Toughest Sheriff' Joe Arpaio Defeated in Bid To Get His Old Job Back
After a presidential pardon, Arizona's most notorious former sherrif is not a reformed man.
America Is Going To Vote by Mail. We're Not Ready.
President Trump threatens to delay the election over at-home voting, but a bigger problem looms: States haven’t prepared for a huge influx of mail-in ballots.
Trump's Naked Megalomania Continues a Bipartisan Trend
Will his blunt self-aggrandizement reinvigorate concerns about presidents who exceed their powers?
Trump's Warnings About Voting by Mail Mix Reasonable Concerns With Fanciful Conspiracy Theories
New York City's primary election fiasco reveals gross incompetence rather than fraud.
'Literally Hitler' Election Mailer Is Protected by the First Amendment
Plus: Trump talks COVID-19 numbers, more demands for TikTok, how the media might blow the 2020 election, and more..
As Electoral Reform Lands on More Ballots, Anti-Ranked-Choice Campaign Defends Status Quo
The Protect My Ballot campaign is out to stop ranked-choice voting.
No, Trump Can't Delay the Election
And no, mail-in voting is not more vulnerable to fraud than absentee voting. It's actually the exact same thing.
Potential Key to the 2020 Election: Voters Who Can't Stand Both Trump and Biden
The "haters demographic" broke strongly in Trump's favor in 2016, but this time the group is younger, more liberal, and more likely to vote for Biden.
Two Billionaires Demonstrate the Limits of Money in Elections
No amount of money can buy victory for candidates who fail to persuade voters.
Joe Biden's Latest Campaign Trail Target Is Milton Friedman. But Why?
Whatever the latest polls say about Biden versus Trump, the Delaware Democrat almost surely has a better chance at winning the presidency than he does at undoing Milton Friedman's life work.
Why Was the Wisconsin Primary Election a Federal Case in the First Place
Most of the commentary on the Supreme Court's rejection of last minute judicial intervention glossed over the underlying constitutional question.
I Ran for Governor of Oklahoma Against Tiger King's Joe Exotic
Lessons learned from the zookeeper Netflix made famous
How to Hold Elections During a Pandemic
Joshua and Rachel Kleinfeld offer some ideas about how to avoid a replay of the Wisconsin mess
Bernie Sanders Suspends His Presidential Campaign
"I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful," Sanders told supporters in a livestreamed address on Wednesday morning.
Making Sense of the Wisconsin Election Supreme Court Decision(s)
Marquette University law professor Chad Oldfather offers a helpful explainer laying out the issues in the SCOTUS and SCOWIS decisions on the Wisconsin primary elections.
The Bloomberg and Steyer Fiascoes Should Give Pause to Speech Restrictionists
No amount of money can buy victory for candidates who fail to persuade voters.
Trial Lawyers Are Betting Big on Biden
What those donors understand is that a President Biden would nominate judges who are favorably disposed, or at least not hostile.
Bloomberg Drops Out, Demonstrating the Limits of Money and the Perils of Arrogance
The former New York City mayor has never been good at concealing his conviction that he is smarter and better than the rest of us.
Tulsi Gabbard Wins a Delegate. The DNC Might Still Keep Her Off the Debate Stage.
The anti-war candidate's scoring of a delegate in American Samoa might earn her a spot on in the next Democratic debate.
Joe Biden Wins South Carolina Primary, Slowing Bernie Sanders' Momentum Before Super Tuesday
Biden's win in South Carolina gives his campaign new life, increases the likelihood of a brokered convention in Milwaukee, and ends Tom Steyer's campaign.
What Would Samuel Adams Think of Michael Bloomberg's Campaign?
"I hope our country will never see the time, when either riches or the want of them will be the leading considerations in the choice of public officers," Adams wrote in 1776.
Joe Biden Blocked Robert Bork's Supreme Court Nomination. Now, Biden Is Getting 'Borked' Too.
Paradoxically, in the current moment—a moment Biden helped to create by blocking Bork—being unqualified for the presidency is the best qualification a candidate can have.
There's Nothing Special About Iowa. Time To Let Other States Vote First.
Letting any single state go first is a mistake. But a national primary would be problematic too. Luckily, those aren't the only two options.
Amy Klobuchar Boasts About Putting Myon Burrell Behind Bars. But What If He's Innocent?
Activists urge Klobuchar to suspend her presidential campaign.
What's Behind Bernie Sanders' Surge? The Same Discontent That Caused Trump's 2016 Rise.
One dynamic that works in favor of both Trump and Sanders is that voters discount their extreme stances, figuring that they just represent opening offers that will eventually be watered down in compromises with powerful interest groups and with establishment lawmakers.
Should Wall Street Be Worried by Potential Sanders, Warren Presidencies?
The Sanders-Warren agenda of higher taxes, increased regulation, and more government control worries Wall Street
Bloomberg, Steyer Showing Money Can't Buy Elections After Failed $200 Million Ad Blitz
The two Democratic billionaires have spent a combined $200 million on campaign ads already. That doesn't mean much to them, but the opportunity costs are staggering.
Los Angeles Bans Developers From Making Campaign Donations
In the midst of a housing crisis, L.A. politicians have decided to limit their own incentives to allow more housing construction.
The First Presidential Debates Featured Wax Dummies and Phonograph Records
Friday A/V Club: Long before Kennedy and Nixon, there were Bryan and Taft.
Did Elizabeth Warren Forget She's a Senator?
The presidential campaign seems to be Warren's priority, despite the fact that she's being paid to represent the residents of Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.
Tulsi Gabbard Conspiracy Theories Go Mainstream as Hillary Clinton Accuses the Candidate of Being Groomed by Russia
Gabbard called Clinton "the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long."
Obama, Trudeau, and the Morality of Electoral Interference
Barack Obama's recent endorsement of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an example of why not all foreign efforts to influence elections are wrong.
Privacy for Rights Isn't a Trade Americans Should Be Forced To Make
Should participation in an election hinge on a voter's identity being made public? Of course not.
The Return of the Faithless Elector
Are we ready for a return to the "original meaning" of the Electoral College?
