This post by ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson originally appeared on The Hill. With Jan. 6 dominating headlines last week, Senate Republicans raised a topic they are not often associated with: election reform. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and others proposed fixing the Electoral Count Act (ECA), the archaic law governing the count of…
This post originally appeared in The Fulcrum. It has become clearer to Americans than ever before that the Electoral College is archaic and represents a threat to our democracy — and needs to be significantly altered if not abolished. But what’s the best way forward? Relying on electoral votes is cumbersome and can be so…
This post originally appeared in GOVERNING. With new threats of ‘faithless legislatures’ ignoring the popular vote, reform is more urgent than ever. Allocating electoral votes proportionately would avoid election disasters and could have bipartisan appeal. — Happily, there was no drama when the nation’s presidential electors met on Monday to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Thanks in…
This blog post originally appeared on The Fulcrum’s Election Dissection. On Dec. 14, the Electoral College will cast its votes. Barring any unforeseen outrage, a majority will vote for Joe Biden, the popular vote winner in the general election, to sighs of relief. Many may conclude the creaky Electoral College works most of the time, and that…
Originally published in The Washington Post | July 10, 2020 Across the country, election officials are living with a palpable sense of dread. Their worry is less about who will win or lose on Election Day than about how our vast, diverse system of voting will function amid a pandemic. Evidence from some primaries this…
Originally published in The Fulcrum | July 10, 2020 The Supreme Court has disarmed one time bomb ticking away in our presidential election system — the risk of “faithless” electors throwing an election to an undeserving candidate. Other critical problems remain, which the decision can play a part in helping us address. The court’s conclusion…
Published in The Fulcrum, April 14, 2020 Regrettably, the bipartisan cooperation that enabled last month’s $2.2 trillion economic stimulus package fell short when it came to addressing concerns about coronavirus and elections. Congress did allocate $400 million for state election preparation, but proposals to require more voting by mail and early in-person voting met with…
COVID-19 creates unique hurdles for the United States’ electoral system. Whatever responses are developed, including expanding voting by mail, we should be careful that untested procedures, or signature verification issues, or other unexpected problems don’t become 2020’s hanging chad. A critical way to reduce risk is to make better use of the 77-day time period…
Either way, it’s Time for an Amendment, including a Proportional Solution for the Electoral College. Remarkably, we still lack a basic fact about the election system we’ve used for more than 200 years: whether electors can vote as they choose. On Friday, the Supreme Court announced it will resolve that question. The Court will likely…
Published in The Fulcrum, August 22, 2019 With all eyes on the threats outsiders pose to the next presidential election, it seems we have forgotten the self-made dysfunction at the center of our democracy. Another presidential election approaches, with another victory to the popular vote loser a distinct possibility. Campaigns will again focus exclusively on a…
SKINNING THE DEMOCRATIC CAT We Americans find our ourselves today in a crisis of democracy. Our institutions don’t seem to work. They produce polarizing results. Gridlock and political stasis are prevalent. Visions of the future are bleak, featuring continued and increased stressing of our democratic institutions and traditions until they risk reaching the breaking point….
