In the news
Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania is home to America’s first and only ‘faithless elector’
Joe Biden is on track to win the election for Pennsylvania’s 20 crucial electoral college votes by a relatively comfortable margin when all the votes are counted. But President Trump’s incendiary and baseless rhetoric claiming, without any proof, that the statewide...
Fox 11 LA: Elex and Christine Talk With Jason Harrow
Medium: 10 November: Where we are: Birtherism, v2.0
The Young Turks: Larry Lessig on How Trump Could Try to Steal the Election
Medium: 7 November: Where we are
Medium: 6 November: Where we are
CBC: Is American democracy broken?
Lawfare: State Legislatures Can’t Ignore the Popular Vote in Appointing Electors
As the counting of votes continues, an anti-democratic suggestion has taken hold among supporters of President Trump that Republican state legislatures could prevent a Biden presidency by directly appointing Trump-supporting electors to the Electoral College, rather...
Medium: 5 November: Where we are
Medium: 4 November: Where we are
FOX 11 LA: Elex Michaelson and Dr. Drew Pinsky Talk with Jason Harrow
CNN: Why Pennsylvania should take its time counting votes
Washington Post: What happens if a nominee dies shortly before or after the election? It’s complicated.
Associated Press: Alaska absentee application mailings discriminatory
A lawsuit filed Friday says state elections officials are discriminating by mailing unprompted absentee ballot applications to older Alaskans but not to all qualified voters. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Anchorage, seeks to have applications sent ahead of the...
Medium: Georgia’s Election Meltdown Explained
After the primary election in Georgia on June 9th, we now know what the worst case scenario looks like. A perfect storm created an election meltdown, where voters were subjected to confusion, exposure to the virus, and wait times upwards of four hours.
Medium: Unpacking Voter Suppression in Georgia
Harvard Law Today: Lessig, who argued on behalf of ‘faithless electors,’ responds to the Supreme Court’s decision
In a unanimous decision on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that states can require Electoral College voters to back the victor of their state’s popular vote. The decision gives states the right to compel so-called ”faithless electors” to cast their electoral ballots...
Harvard Law Today: Does recent Supreme Court ruling suggest the Electoral College is ‘good for nothing’ ?
During the 2016 presidential election, multiple presidential electors tried to cast ballots for people who didn’t win a majority of their states’ votes. After Colorado removed one elector and Washington fined three, the electors sued, arguing that the U.S....
Medium: We The People Pick The President? One Day, I Hope.
Time: The Supreme Court Just Pointed Out the Absurdity of the Electoral College. It’s Up to Us to End It
Spectrum 1 News: SCOTUS Ruling on “Faithless Electors” Fuels Calls to Overhaul Electoral College
Medium: Our New Campaign to Fix The Electoral College
The Globe Post: Why Voting by Mail Is Part of the Right to Vote
USA Today: Supreme Court rules presidential electors can be forced to uphold popular vote
Politico: States can punish ‘faithless’ electors, Supreme Court rules
New York Times: States May Curb ‘Faithless Electors,’ Supreme Court Rules
The Nation: Topple the Electoral College
The Spokesman-Review: ‘Faithless’ electors can be fined, U.S. Supreme Court says
Associated Press: Justices rule states can bind presidential electors’ votes
Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Rules States Can Prohibit Presidential Electors From Breaking Rank
NPR: Supreme Court Rules State ‘Faithless Elector’ Laws Constitutional
The Hill: Supreme Court rules states can remove ‘faithless electors’
New York Times: Did the Popular Vote Just Get a Win at the Supreme Court?
Washington Post:
Newsweek: Supreme Court Upholds ‘Faithless Electors’ Laws—Here’s How They Voted in 2016
CNN: Supreme Court says states can punish Electoral College voters
Talking Points Memo: COVID-19 Might Not Sideline Expansion Of Ranked Choice Voting Reform In These Key States
USA Today: It’s not just police brutality. George Floyd’s death also must prompt prison reform.
IBT: Democratizing Political Power Is Necessary To Guard Against Abuse In The Incarceration System
The Hill: There is no place for age discrimination in voting
San Antonio Current: New Report by Constitutional Scholars Blasts Texas’ Limit on Mail-In Voting as Discriminatory
Washington Post: We were presidential electors in 2016. We should be allowed the ‘vote’ our Constitution gave us.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear two cases dealing with that important and unresolved question. The cases address what we did in 2016, when we were members of the electoral college in Washington state and Colorado. The states say they need this power so they...
Law & Crime: Attorney Arguing SCOTUS ‘Faithless Elector’ Case Says 1796 Election Irregularity Could Repeat in 2020
The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in the “Faithless Elector” cases on Wednesday, May 13. Chiafalo v. Washington has been consolidated with Colorado Department of State v. Baca, and may mean a serious renovation of the electoral college....
Reuters: As 2020 presidential contest looms, U.S. Supreme Court mulls power of ‘electors’
Talking Points Memo: NY Presidential Primary Cancellation Was An Anti-Democratic Move That Harmed A Pro-Democracy Campaign
Holding an election during a pandemic is an unprecedented endeavor that requires thoughtful preparation and resource management. That’s why many states have postponed primary elections, and why those that haven’t have been roundly critiqued for forcing in-person...
Medium: How States are Safeguarding Their Elections
IBT: Ranked-Choice Voting Is Needed Now More Than Ever
Medium: Preparing our Democracy for Crisis: An Interview With Phil Keisling (Part Two)
Medium: Preparing our Democracy for Crisis: An Interview With Phil Keisling (Part One)
The Hill: Biden needs to be a leader on voting rights
CNBC: Can you argue in pajamas? Lawyers get ready for first-ever Supreme Court oral arguments by phone
Reuters: A U.S. Supreme Court first: arguments by teleconference including major one involving Trump
Talking Points Memo: The Media Can Play A Crucial Role In Preserving Democracy Amid COVID. Here’s How.
The Columbus Dispatch: Protect democracy: Plan now for November vote
Common Dreams: ‘A day that will live in infamy’: This is what it looked like when Wisconsin forced in-person voting during a pandemic
The Hill: Supreme Court right to uphold Seattle Democracy Vouchers
Medium: Voter Purges: The Next Frontier of Voter Suppression
Denver Post: Supreme Court will hear Colorado’s faithless electors case April 28
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday it will hear arguments in Colorado’s so-called faithless electors case on April 28, leaving justices two months to weigh a question crucial to American presidential elections.
UBNow: Mitchell Lecture to address breakdown of democracy in America
CommonWealth Magazine: Give 16-year-olds the right to vote
US News and World Report: The Left’s Search for the ‘Right’ Cash
Daily Herald: Ranking choices could lead to better election results
The Nation: The Loser President
Elizabeth Warren electrified a December town hall meeting in Iowa when she answered a question about the Electoral College with a stirring call to action. “I want to get rid of it,” she declared. “My goal is to get elected and then to be the last American president to...
Medium: Breaking News from the Supreme Court
Great news: the Supreme Court just agreed to hear two major cases we brought about the role of presidential electors! The Supreme Court decides to hear only a tiny percentage of all the cases that come before it, so this announcement is just more evidence that our...
Associated Press: Justices to consider faithless electors, ahead of 2020 vote
New York Times: Supreme Court to Hear Timely Case on Electoral College Voters
The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether members of the Electoral College may cast their votes for presidential candidates other than the ones they had pledged to support.
NBC News: ‘Faithless elector’: Supreme Court will hear case that could change how presidents are chosen
The Denver Channel: US Supreme Court agrees to take up Colorado’s ‘faithless electors’ case
Washington Post: Supreme Court will hear cases on electoral college, birth control mandate
Bloomberg Law: High Court to Rule on ‘Faithless Electors’ in Presidential Vote
The Hill: Supreme Court agrees to hear ‘faithless elector’ cases
Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court to decide if ‘faithless electors’ can defy a state’s presidential vote and pick another candidate
Denver Post: Supreme Court will hear Colorado “faithless electors” case
USA Today: Supreme Court will hear case that could decide future presidential elections
Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court takes up presidential Electoral College dispute
NPR: Supreme Court To Hear ‘Faithless Electors’ Case
ValueWalk: Senator Bernie Sanders trying to revitalize American democracy
At democracy town hall, Senator Bernie Sanders commits to revitalize American democracy as President and endorses the use of democracy dollars to publicly finance federal elections
Los Angeles Times: Why Mayor Pete’s ‘wine cave’ dinner is beside the point
Boston Globe: Ranked-choice voting could guarantee that a candidate is elected by a majority
New York Times: Could Politics Be Fairer? Two New Books Say Yes
One of the biggest divides in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination is whether Donald Trump is a cause or a symptom of the current dysfunction in American politics. Joe Biden has argued the former — replace Trump and everything will go back to normal —...
International Business Times: Congress Needs A Trial About The Real Corruption Influencing Politicians
And so, the impeachment circus begins. For the next few weeks, expect the media and every politician to be consumed with the daily ups and downs of public impeachment hearings. After the House hearings conclude, if they vote to impeach, we’ll have a two-month trial in...
Juneau Empire: Alaska case on campaign finance laws could go national
A national debate about campaign donations is taking shape in Alaska. An Anchorage Superior Court ruled Nov. 4, the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) had failed to enforce contribution limits to political campaigns. APOC has until Monday, Nov. 25 to appeal the...
Cheddar: Harvard Law Professor on Why the Government Does Not ‘Represent Us’
The impeachment inquiry into President Trump has furthered the political divide not just in Washington, but all over the country. With partisanship at an all-time high and politicians dominated by special interests, is America's democracy in crisis? Harvard law...
WGBH: Lawrence Lessig On Why ‘They Don’t Represent Us’
In his new book, Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig argues that American democracy is broken not only because of partisanship in Washington, but also because the American system of government does not properly ensure representation under the ideal of "one person,...
Los Angeles Review of Books: Let’s Just Try It for Once: Talking to Lawrence Lessig
If we had 20 years to solve the problems of American democracy, what could we accomplish? If we don’t have 20 years, what should we do right now? When I want to ask such questions, I pose them to Lawrence Lessig. This present conversation focuses on Lessig’s book They...
Background Briefing: Interview with Lawrence Lessig
The Fulcrum: Alaska case may open door to reversing Citizens United
Advocates of toughening campaign finance regulation are thrilled by a judge's ruling in Alaska this week, which they view as a potential starting point for reversing the Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgate of money into politics this decade.
KTUU: Home Politics Article Anchorage judge orders Alaska campaign contribution limit to be reinstated
An Anchorage judge has ruled that contribution limits should be enforced to independent expenditure groups, the Alaska equivalent of super PACs. The case was brought forward by Equal Citizens, a nonprofit based out of Washington D.C., on behalf of three Alaskans. The...
Common Dreams: ‘Historic’ Alaska Ruling Could Provide Roadmap to Defeating Citizens United
A ruling in a court in Alaska Monday could open the door to imposing more restrictions on super PACs and possibly reversing the infamous 2012 Citizens United by the U.S. Supreme Court that in 2012 upended the nation's campaign finance laws.
Value Walk: Group Wins Landmark Case Against Super PACs in Alaska
The Harvard Gazette: Our unrepresentative representative government
Lawrence Lessig has long crusaded against the influence of money in politics. But in a new book, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School casts his sights on the broader topic of reinvigorating democracy. In “They Don’t Represent Us:...
New Jersey Law Journal: Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig says political reform needed to make the U.S. a representative democracy
Alaska Public Media: Judge says Alaska should crack down on unlimited contributions in state elections
A Superior Court judge in Anchorage has issued a ruling that may hobble the big-money independent expenditure groups that have come to dominate Alaska elections. Jason Harrow, of the group Equal Citizens, is one of the attorneys who brought the case on behalf of three...
Harvard Magazine: Medicine for an Ailing Democracy
Talking Points Memo: Voting Rights Must Be A Priority In 2020 Race
Heading into the 2020 elections, Democrats need to place an emphasis on pro-democracy reforms that cement the right to vote. And if they are able to win back the White House and the Senate, the party must be prepared to take advantage of their progressive majority and...
Nashua Telegraph: GOP primary hopeful Bill Weld talks gerrymandering, electoral college, voter suppression at town hall
Republican presidential primary candidate and former Mass. Gov. William Weld, right, answers questions during his appearance Sunday at an Open Democracy Action/Equal Citizens Town Hall event at the Courtyard by Marriott in Nashua.
Boston Globe: Bill Weld says country ‘is never going to be able to breathe a sigh of relief’ unless Trump is removed from office
Weld spent much of the discussion addressing Lessig’s questions on voting and campaign finance issues. Weld decried efforts by some members of his party to suppress the black vote and said he supports allowing felons who have served their time to vote, and he’s open...
Denver Post: Colorado seeks “urgent” decision from Supreme Court on faithless electors
Colorado is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the people picked to cast Electoral College votes are bound by their state’s rules on how to vote — a decision that has the potential to upend the way America picks its president ahead of the 2020 election.
Associated Press: Colorado appeals ruling on presidential electors
Colorado officials said Wednesday they want the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court ruling that presidential electors can vote for the candidate of their choice and aren't bound by the popular vote in their states.
New York Times: ‘Faithless Electors’ Could Tip the 2020 Election. Will the Supreme Court Stop Them?
On Dec. 19, 2016, a little more than a month after the presidential election, members of the Electoral College gathered around the nation to cast their votes. Ten of them went rogue. A swing by that number of electors would have been enough to change the outcomes in...
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow Equal Citizens on social media to stay updated on the latest fights to fix our democracy
JOIN THE FIGHT
GET INVOLVED
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This website is shared by EqualCitizens.US and Equal Citizens Foundation. Equal Citizens Foundation is not responsible for any political content on this website. Read our Privacy Policy here.