Ballot initiatives reveal a battle between voters and legislators | #alaska | #politics
In the past decade, voters have had remarkable success using citizen initiatives to directly pass egalitarian policies at the state level that would be unachievable through partisan legislation. Now elected representatives and judiciaries are fighting back against their own constituents. In new research, Benjamin Case and Michael McQuarrie examine the current fight over ballot initiatives […]
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The design of the US Senate is weighted towards representing the views of largely white, conservative Americans | #alaska | #politics
The United States Senate represents almost 330 million people across 100 seats. But with two seats per state, which can have dramatically different populations, the body is far from equally representative. In new research, Richard Johnson explores a hypothetical alternative version of the Senate, one where a state’s representation is allocated according to its population. […]
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The 2022 Midterms: Why this may be another record setting election for women in the House of Representatives | #alaska | #politics
Ahead of the midterm elections, Samantha Pettey analyzes open seats and the competitive races of this cycle to determine the potential gender makeup of the 118th House of Representatives and predicts that 129 women could win seats. She also takes a close look at how abortion is (or isn’t) playing a role in toss-up races […]
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The 2022 Midterms: Why races with celebrity candidates are interesting for both academics and journalists | #alaska | #politics
There are many close electoral races in this year’s midterm elections, but a handful have captured the imagination of the public, academics, and the media in the US and abroad. Caroline Leicht looks at why races in Alaska, Pennsylvania and Georgia have come to the forefront of reporting about the midterms and argues that the […]
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Ranked choice voting in the US is contested but not confusing | #alaska | #politics
In addition to the candidates vying for re-election in November, ranked choice voting (RCV) referendums will also be on the ballot in many states, cities, and counties. Todd Donovan looks at the recent history of RCV in the US, and highlights that partisan divisions are not a consistent feature in support or opposition. While some […]
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