Even though I have lived in Washington for almost 25 years, I like to think of myself as only slightly cynical. I don’t hate politics or politicians. I think our electoral system, while imperfect, is still pretty good. I think voters are smarter than we give them credit for. However, […] Read more »
Why Hispanics Don’t Have a Larger Political Voice
Hispanic-Americans are growing in number, coveted by the nation’s political parties and deeply in favor of an overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws. Given this combination, why does such an overhaul still seem to be such a long shot in Washington? One reason is that no demographic group is more […] Read more »
Voter Fraud Is Rare, but Myth Is Widespread
Is vote fraud common in American politics? Not according to United States District Judge Lynn Adelman, who examined the evidence from Wisconsin and ruled in late April that “virtually no voter impersonation occurs” in the state and that “no evidence suggests that voter-impersonation fraud will become a problem at any […] Read more »
Is There a Favorite in the Republican Runoff For Senate in Mississippi?
State Sen. Chris McDaniel finished over 1,000 votes ahead of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in Mississippi’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate. But McDaniel — with 49.5 percent of the vote — is short of a majority, the threshold needed to avoid a runoff. So we’ll have that runoff June 24. […] Read more »
Can turnout save the Democrats in 2014?
A popular theory about elections today goes like this: Democrats can’t win midterm elections because Democrats don’t vote in midterm elections. Certainly Barack Obama seems to buy this theory. But how much is lower turnout a factor in the challenges facing Democrats? Maybe less than you think. A significant challenge […] Read more »
State-by-State Map of Youth Voter Turnout, Voter Registration, and Youth Demographics
With the 2014 election cycle underway, CIRCLE’s new, interactive state-by-state map includes historical trends and state-level data to inform those interested in youth and electoral engagement. The map includes voter turnout and registration rates in midterm and presidential elections for citizens aged 18-29, and for those 30 years old or […] Read more »