South Dakotans Say No to Marijuana Legalization After Saying Yes Two Years Ago
A 2020 initiative was overturned by the courts, and this year's version was rejected by voters.
Elections
Bernie Sanders-Backed John Fetterman Prevails in Pennsylvania
Voters told exit pollsters they had little confidence in the ability of either Fetterman or Oz to represent Pennsylvania.
Arkansas Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization
Early polling showed a majority favored the change, but support fell in the face of opposition from leading Republicans and conservative groups.
Anti-Lockdown Governors Ran on Their COVID Records and Cruised to Victory
Republican Governors Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp made a name for themselves opposing COVID mandates.
Tough-on-Crime Cash Bail Initiatives Win in Ohio and Alabama
The debate over bail has become a polarizing flash point. But as usual, the answer is more nuanced than either Republicans or Democrats would have their bases believe.
North Dakota Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization
Since approving medical marijuana by a wide margin in 2016, North Dakotans have said no twice to allowing recreational use.
Maryland Becomes the 20th State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing adults 21 or older to use cannabis and instructing legislators to authorize commercial production and distribution.
No, Stacey Abrams Is Not Losing Because of 'Misinformation' Aimed at Black Men
"Unfortunately this year, black men have been a very targeted population for misinformation."
Kari Lake's Election Conspiracy Theories Aren't Even the Worst Thing About Her
It's her willingness to wield state power to punish the ideas and groups she dislikes.
Nevada Voters Could Smash the Two-Party Duopoly
Abolishing party-specific primary elections makes a lot of sense, and might help steer American democracy back towards the center.
Small Blessings: Tom Cotton Isn't Running for President
Cotton is one of the Senate's staunchest drug warriors and no friend of liberty.
Abortion, Pot, Slavery, and More: 34 Ballot Initiatives We're Watching Today
Plus: California's latest faux-trafficking sting, judge suspends New York gun restrictions, and more...
Conservative Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw Says Republican Leaders' Election Denialism was "Always a Lie"
GOP politicians lied in order to exploit public ignorance. That dynamic is just one particularly egregious example of the broader danger widespread voter ignorance and bias.
In Arizona's Senate Race, Blake Masters and Mark Kelly Battle Over Their Preferred Kinds of Big Government
Though the candidates have seemingly little in common, either one winning will harm the cause of individual liberty.
'This Is What Democracy Looks Like. And It Kinda Sucks.'
Plus: Peter Suderman may or may not attempt a rendition of a famous rap from the movie Bulworth.
U.S. Voters Are 'Vulnerable' to 'Foreign Manipulation,' No Matter How Inept, The New York Times Warns
Journalists who sound the alarm about Russian propaganda are unfazed by the lack of evidence that it has a meaningful impact.
Neither Democrats Nor Republicans Have a Clear Advantage Going Into Election Day
Plus: University cancels "The Problem of Whiteness" class, Twitter's snowflake-in-chief, and more...
Kansas Voters Could Give Legislature Power To Veto Executive Branch Regulations
The proposed constitutional amendment would shift the state's balance of political power.
'Election Fraud' Can Become Our Awful New Hyperbole
If we go through one election cycle after another and every loser unjustifiably cries fraud, eventually the claim will cease to impress.
Free Trade Would Boost the Economy, But It's Not on the Ballot
Joe Biden adopted his predecessor’s protectionism, threatening our peace and prosperity.
Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle Won't Endorse Blake Masters, Slams Dr. Oz, Fetterman, Georgia GOP
"The fact that [Dr. Oz] can't beat Fetterman in a race is not anything that libertarians should be biting their nails or clutching their pearls over."
Herschel Walker's Unseriousness Overshadowed What Should Have Been a Serious Race
Even before his personal foibles became front-page news, the former football star was more like a caricature of a bad candidate.
A New Authoritarian Political Style Is on the Ballot in Ohio
The most jarring thing about Senate candidate J.D. Vance is how open he is about rejecting the rule of law.
In Pennsylvania, John Fetterman and Dr. Oz Race to the Bottom
Neither candidate in the crucially important Pennsylvania Senate race has made much of a positive case for his candidacy.
A GOP-Led Congress May Focus on Owning the Libs. Instead, It Should Focus on Owning Inflation.
If the midterms favor Republicans, their top priority needs to be the fight against inflation—whether or not they feel like they created the problem.
Turning 'Saving Democracy' Into a Campaign Slogan Isn't Helping Save Democracy
Biden's planned address on Wednesday night will call out "those who deny the documented truth about election results and those who seek to undermine public faith in our system of government."
In Arizona, Blake Masters and Kari Lake Embrace Bad Border Policies
The anti-immigrant tenor of the state's GOP candidates is keeping reasonable conversations about border security out of reach.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS' Crusade Against Misinformation Is Another Example of Anti-Terror Mission Creep
While the Department of Homeland Security pressured tech companies to censor their users' posts, it also branded election deniers as potential terrorists.
Will Pennsylvania's Libertarian Senate Candidate Drop Out? 'That's a Hard No.'
Like Arizona's Marc Victor, Erik Gerhardt is a potential spoiler in one of the nation's biggest Senate races. Unlike Victor, he's embracing the role.
In Kentucky, Legal Abortion Is on the Ballot
Voters will soon cast ballots on a constitutional amendment that seeks to explicitly remove any protections for abortion in the state's constitution.
Arizona Libertarian Senate Candidate Marc Victor Drops Out, Endorses GOP's Blake Masters
The Libertarian—who polled as high as 6 percent in the past 8 days—thinks Republican Masters is "gonna be one of us" in the Senate.
Twitter Was Already a Hellscape Even Before It Was Set Free
Plus: For Halloween, the editors describe what scares them most about politics and government right now.
Nearly Half of Voters Prefer Pro-Choice Candidates; 18 Percent Don't Care
Plus: Brazil's Bolsonaro loses, fact-checking Biden on the Inflation Reduction Act, and more...
Florida's Constitutional Revision Commission Is Unelected, Unaccountable, and Unnecessary
This November, voters will have the chance to abolish it. They should.
Colorado Voters Will Soon Decide Whether To Decriminalize 5 Natural Psychedelics
The ballot initiative also would authorize state-licensed "healing centers" where adults could obtain psychedelics for supervised use.
Latest GDP Numbers Aren't Calming Recession Fears
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that GDP grew 0.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022.
Debating Dr. Oz, John Fetterman Cannot Explain His About-Face on Fracking
Fetterman has auditory processing issues related to a stroke in May, but still had trouble explaining why he seems to have changed his mind.
Americans Oppose Big Government, Unless Their Party Is in Power
Supporting restraints on government only for your opponents is a recipe for continued conflict.
This Election Day, Listen to the Betting Market Instead of Pundit Predictions
Over time, betting has been a better predictor than polls, pundits, statistical models, and everything else.
New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Will Probably Disappoint Fans of Free Markets
After 50 days, Liz Truss is out as the U.K. prime minister and Rishi Sunak is in.
Is Crime Getting Better or Worse? We Don't Really Know.
The FBI changed the way it compiles data, and reporting law-enforcement agencies have yet to catch up.
Ninth Circuit Refuses to Quash Jan. 6 Committee Subpoena for Kelli Ward's Cell Phone Records
A Ninth Circut panel split 2-1 over whether First Amendment concerns should prevent congressional investigatos from obtaining cell records for Arizona's Republican Party Chair.
Prison Slavery Up for a Vote in 5 States
Plus: Federal court dismisses state challenge to student loan debt forgiveness, not all independent contractors want to be employees, and more...
A Federal Judge Says Trump Knowingly Endorsed False Fraud Claims in an Election Lawsuit
Despite that evidence, it is hard to tell whether Trump actually thought he beat Biden.
Georgia Sets Early Voting Record, Despite Controversial Voting Law
Many opponents, including the president, criticized the law in misleading terms, obscuring its very real issues.
Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams Both Advocate More Government in Georgia Governor Debate
The governor favors more punitive policing, while his Democratic opponent thinks the governor should have a say in who buys what properties in the state.
Midterm Polling, PayPal, and Patellas
Plus: The editors consider Ye and social media, then field a question about the TARP bailouts during the 2008 fiscal crisis.
