Voting
It's OK Not to Vote
Instead, you can do something that will actually make the world a better place. Which is basically anything else.
Fargo Considers Whether to Turn Local Elections into a Voting System of Likes (and Dislikes)
Measure 1 would introduce "approval voting" to the city, meaning voters wouldn't have to abandon independent and third-party choices.
Maine Voters Prepare to Rank Their Congressional Candidates to Choose Winners
Launch of statewide ranked-choice voting will help us see who best earns the support of independents.
6 of the Worst Campaign Ads This Election Cycle
Outing survivors of sexual assault, warning that Democrats "will be lynching black folk again," and other stupid campaign-ad tricks.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 'Eliminate' Electoral College, It 'Undermines' Democracy
The socialist candidate fails to grapple with why we have the Electoral College in the first place.
A Florida Amendment Seeks to Restore Voting Rights to Ex-Cons Who've Paid Their Dues
If Amendment 4 receives 60% of the vote in November, ex-felons would see the right to vote once again.
A Priest Is Being Deported After Committing the Heinous Crime of Voting
Father David Boase was led to believe that he was eligible to vote. His mistake caught up with him 12 years later.
Send the Straight-Ticket Ballot Option Straight to the Trash
Having a "one-punch" option to choose every candidate from a political party alters election results, changes politicians' behavior, and reinforces the advantage of the locally dominant party.
Court Rejects Johnson-Blocking Straight-Ticket Ballot Change in New Mexico
Last-minute Democrat-assisting reinstatement of "one-punch" balloting is struck down by the New Mexico Supreme Court
Florida Ballot Initiative Asks Voters to Ban Offshore Drilling and Vaping in Offices
Critics have sued, saying the "bundled" initiative violates the First Amendment.
Justin Amash: 'Straight-Ticket Voting Makes it Prohibitive to Run Outside of the Major Parties'
The libertarian Republican explains why New Mexico's voting change is "primarily a scheme to unfairly benefit the major party establishments."
New Mexico Reinstates Straight-Party Voting Just in Time to Thwart Gary Johnson
Democratic secretary of state in heavily Democratic state unilaterally changes voting rule in a way that favors Democrats (and punishes Libertarians). Republicans say they'll sue.
Could an 11-Year-Old Really Hack an Election in 10 Minutes?
Two 11-year-olds hacked into a replica of Florida's election website. Should we be alarmed?
Kris Kobach's Primary Fight Shows a GOP Still Obsessed With Immigration Fantasies
The two major parties continue their sorting into democratic socialists on the left and Mercantilist nativists to the right.
NAACP Sues Connecticut to Stop 'Prison Gerrymandering'
Incarcerated prisoners are counted where they're jailed for representation purposes, even though they usually cannot vote.
Maine Voters Tell Lawmakers They Want to Keep Ranking Their Candidates
State's experiment in a different style of voting to continue.
Judge Spikes Kansas Voter ID Law, Orders Trump's 'Voter-Fraud' Czar to Take Remedial Legal Classes
Kris Kobach suffers legal, factual, and professional humiliation at the hands of a federal judge, though his conspiratorial cause still lives on at the White House.
'I Am Absolutely a Product of the Libertarian-Industrial Complex': Podcast
Katherine Mangu-Ward talks about politics, culture, and Reason's next 50 years.
Can the Blockchain Save Democracy?
Voting on the blockchain could end worries about voter fraud and election hacking.
Maine's Primary a Pioneering Experiment in Ranked-Choice Voting
Voters participate in first use of a candidate rating system for state races in the U.S.
San Francisco's Next Mayor Might Not Be the Person With the Most Votes
Golden Gate City voters ranked their choices for top office. And now the outcome is getting a little messy.
Political Ignorance and Voting for a Lesser Evil
Canadian columnist Marcus Gee has an excellent article on how political ignorance exacerbates the challenges of voting for a lesser evil. But the problem is in some ways even worse than he suggests. At the same time, there is much we can do to improve the quality of our decisions.
Can We Help Save Democracy by Requiring Voters to Pass a Test of Political Knowledge?
Economist Dambisa Moyo is right to worry about the dangers of political ignorance. But her proposed solution for the problem falls short.
Gov. Cuomo to Use Pardons to Restore Voting Rights to Some Felons
He faces a reelection challenge from the left, with Cynthia Nixon running on criminal justice issues like pot legalization.
Supporters of the Census Citizenship Question Expose the Administration's Dishonest Justifications
A higher non-response rate among illegal immigrants is a goal to be celebrated, not some minor potential side effect to be lamented, Kris Kobach, David Vitter, and other would-be gerrymanderers stress.
Texas Woman Gets 5 Years in Prison for the Crime of Not Realizing She Couldn't Vote
An obsession with election fraud leads to cruel punishments.
Trump Administration to Deliberately Undercount Illegal Immigrants in 2020 Census
The Census Bureau's decision to ask about citizenship in its decennial survey for the first time since 1950 will lead to worse data, but better electoral results for Republicans.
Surprise: Voters Aren't More Polarized than Ever, Only Pols and Media Are
Stanford political scientist Morris Fiorina says it's media and political elites who live in ideological bubbles, not regular Americans.
Felons Who Want Their Voting Rights Back Are Getting Unconstitutionally Screwed, Says Judge
The state uses a panel of partisan officials with absolute discretion to determine who gets to vote again
Why Are Previously-Convicted Felons Denied the Right to Vote?
Florida voters are set to consider deleting a provision in the Florida Constitution depriving convicted felons of the right to vote. It's about time.
Court Unblocks Ranked-Choice Voting in Santa Fe; Maine Still Obstructed
The two-party system continues playing Whac-a-Mole with instant runoff voting
Trump Kills Incompetent 'Election Integrity' Commission, But His Voter Fraud Conspiracy Theory Lives On
Even while euthanizing the bureaucratic expression of his electoral fantasies, the president continues to play vote-counting politics with the Department of Homeland Security and Census.
Demise of Trump Voter Fraud Commission Is a Victory for Federalism
The President shut down the commission because numerous states refused to turn over voter data, citing concerns about privacy and state sovereignty.
Roy Moore's Claim of 'Systematic Voter Fraud' Is at Least As Plausible As Trump's
The defeated Senate candidate's refusal to concede is no more preposterous than the claim that the president actually won the popular vote.
Every Vote Does Count - But the Chance it Will Make a Difference is Still Ridiculously Low
A recent Virginia election decided by one vote has given new life to the mantra that "every vote counts." But the chance of a single vote making a difference remains extraordinarily low, and this reality incentivizes voters to be ignorant and biased.
Toll Roads and Political Ignorance
Economics 101 indicates that toll roads can help solve the problem of traffic congestion. But public ignorance often prevents government from acting on this basic insight.
Roy Moore Sees Restoration of Voting Rights of Felons as a Plot Against Him
A law signed by Alabama's Republican governor allows many ex-cons to return to the ballot box.
Alabama Senate Election Shouldn't Be a Binary Choice
The two-party system isn't responsive to consumer (voter) needs.
Alabama Secretary of State Wants Willful Violators of New Voting Law Jailed for 5 Years
Better to punish officials who couldn't implement the new law in a timely fashion.
If Sen. Feinstein Loses Re-Election, It Certainly Won't Be Because She's Not 'Left' Enough
California's top-two primary system helps protect her, but what's her appeal outside of her own party?
Will the Supreme Court Stop Politicians from Choosing Their Voters?
Social science could help identify objective principles for creating competitive voting districts.
If Democracy Is Doomed, Don't Blame the Russians
Fishy Facebook ads do not undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
Bitcoin's Blockchain Tech Could Be the Answer to Voter Fraud
The technology promises to be a secure and efficient way of confirming voter ID.
Seattle's 'Democracy Vouchers' Serve as Campaign Welfare for Well-Established Candidates
A program intended to empower voters has instead funneled public money to most organized and funded campaigns.