Common Blog

Did you know that you can walk 4 blocks in Baltimore and pass through three legislative districts?

The Republican was right in a recent editorial to condemn GOP efforts in several states to gerrymander the Electoral College by awarding presidential electors to the winner of each congressional district in those states rather than the current winner-take-all method. Such a system sounds like reform, but nothing could be further from the truth. Congressional district [...]

  Sam Wang’s op-ed in the New York Times builds on a steady stream of recent analysis that the 2012 redistricting process… well, it sucked, for the most part.  When incumbents draw their own district lines, the district maps we are stuck with reflect hyper-partisan manipulation, extreme incumbent protectionism, and in some cases, ugly racism.  [...]

When Australia became a nation in 1901, its founders chose to model their new democracy not on the British system but rather on the federalist system of the United States. Since then, however, Australia has implemented political and electoral reforms that make them a model upon which other nations—including the United States—can build stronger democracies.

Only three American governors have been targeted in recall elections. Republican and Non-Partisan League Governor Lynn Frazier of North Dakota was ousted in 1921.  California Democratic Governor Gray Davis was removed in 2003. And on Tuesday, Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker broke the pattern, turning back the Democratic Mayor of Milwaukee and Walker’s 2010 opponent, [...]