Election Dispute Resolution - Election Reformers Network

Reframing judicial elections — not “who should we elect,” but “why should we elect them at all?”

March 16, 2023Al Vanderklipp

This opinion piece originally appeared on The Fulcrum. The nation is watching Wisconsin as a state Supreme Court race with major implications for democratic outcomes—at both state and national levels—becomes an all-out spending war on behalf of the liberal and conservative candidates. No one expects the record-breaking spending or heated partisan rhetoric to die down...

Wisconsin Examiner: Wisconsin should stop electing justices to the state Supreme Court

February 21, 2023Election Reformers Network

This article, which cites ERN’s policy brief on a replacement system for judicial elections, was originally published in the Wisconsin Examiner. “What would it take to actually return to an independent, impartial judiciary? The nonpartisan Election Reformers Network, a Washington DC-based group that works on election administration, independent redistricting and strengthening democratic institutions around the…

Why do we elect judges? Wisconsin’s highly partisan race begs the question.

February 17, 2023Al Vanderklipp

A policy brief for journalists and editorial boards National media is already focusing on the April 4 Supreme Court election in Wisconsin as a major political battle with critical implications for issues ranging from abortion to gerrymandering to voting rights. At stake is the open 7th seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court currently divided between...

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

December 28, 2022Kevin Johnson

This opinion piece originally appeared on The Fulcrum. A massive 11th hour spending bill stuffed with thinly vetted backroom deals might seem proof of our political dysfunction. But the omnibus bill approved by Congress last week has democracy fans cheering – because it includes changes to presidential vote counting that could literally save our democracy....

Back to Normal Isn’t Good Enough for US Democracy after the 2022 Midterms

December 14, 2022Kevin Johnson

The midterm elections have raised hopes that democracy-distortion fever is breaking at last. Prominent swing state candidates who ran on election lies lost because of it. Local officials trying to block results they didn't like were easily brought to heel. Warnings from pundits about an underground right-wing takeover of local election infrastructure proved wildly exaggerated. In short, a...

Election Reformers Network Calls for All Secretaries of State Who Are Candidates to Recuse Themselves From Key Roles in Close Races

November 7, 2022Kevin Johnson

Statement from ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson: In Tuesday’s elections, fifteen secretaries of state (listed in the table below) who serve as their state’s most senior election administrator are themselves on the ballot in contested races, either for re-election or for governor. Although many secretaries of state manage such situations of potential conflict of interest...

What Happens if an Election is Close and Contested? An FAQ for Voters and Journalists

November 4, 2022Al Vanderklipp

Many of Tuesday's races are expected to be close. With partisan tensions running high and trust in elections low, it's crucial that voters and journalists are aware of the procedures that election administrators and the courts have in place to fairly resolve disputes. Understanding these steps can help ensure that results are broadly accepted as legitimate, even when...

Why We Need to Take the Partisanship Out of Certifying Elections

October 27, 2022Kevin Johnson

This op-ed by ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson originally appeared in GOVERNING. It may be hard to remember now, but Jan. 6, 2021, wasn’t the first time the 2020 presidential election nearly went off the rails. Several swing states had already seen organized efforts to seriously challenge results, nowhere more dangerously than in Michigan, where party…

AP EXPLAINER: Trying to get politics out of election certifying

October 12, 2022Al Vanderklipp

Originally published by The Associated Press. “Partisan officials are involved in certifying elections, something experts worry about after nearly two years of conspiracy theories falsely claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Republican former President Donald Trump. There is no evidence of widespread fraud or manipulated voting machines, and reviews in battleground states confirmed Democrat Joe Biden’s win. In 45 states, the local boards that handle…

ERN Applauds House Passage of Electoral Count Act Reform & Urges Senate Action

September 22, 2022Zachary Roth

Election Reformers Network (ERN) cheered the passage in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday of a bipartisan bill to prevent subversion of the results of a presidential election, and urged the U.S. Senate to pass their version promptly. The Presidential Election Reform Act would fix dangerous flaws and vague language in the 1887 law,…

Declaring Who Wins Elections Is Not A Job For Partisans

September 6, 2022Kevin Johnson

This post by By Kevin Johnson originally appeared on TalkingPointsMemo. If the stars align, Congress could soon pass a much-needed overhaul of the Electoral Count Act (ECA), the 19th-century law governing presidential electoral-vote counting, whose ambiguities helped spawn chaos on January 6th. In pushing to reform the ECA, a bipartisan group of senators is acknowledging a dangerous...

Michigan’s partisan gerrymander is gone. Next: partisan canvassing boards

June 28, 2022Kevin Johnson

This op-ed by ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson and The People’s Katie Fahey originally appeared in Bridge Michigan. In 2018, Michiganders of all sides won one of the greatest battles for basic fairness in the state’s history. Michigan “slayed the dragon” of partisan gerrymandering, taking election district drawing out of the self-dealing hands of legislators…