"In a modern democracy... You have to have responsiveness and you have to have public involvement in the decisions all the time, not just the time of elections.
What happens in NZ is we tend to go to sleep between the elections and there isn't enough public involvement in the decision-making system. We need in this country much more deliberative democracy if we are not to go the way they've gone in the US or Britain ..."
"I think that as politicians we also have to look in the mirror and say; are we engaging the public? Because actually when the issues are put in front of people, and it seems like it's going to be a very important decision and there are real alternatives, turnout does go up."
The Trump campaign’s managers sent a letter asking Republican candidates that use Trump’s name and image in their fundraising ads to give a 5% cut to the Republican nominee’s presidential committee. The letter comes as the former president seeks to close a fundraising gap with President Biden, but campaign officials insist the move is not meant to raise money but to discourage scammers from using his brand and diluting its fundraising reach. Read more from Politico.
The general election is the largest democratic exercise ever - almost one in eight people in the world can vote. On 19 April, Indians will begin choosing a new parliament for the next five years, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third consecutive term.
“‘Although race is often cited as the central cleavage in America, the single most powerful predictor of #voting intention is #religion,’ the Economist noted. ‘A model that knows nothing save for respondents’ religious affiliations can correctly identify which of the two leading candidates they prefer 62% of the time.’”
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted essential parts of the Voting Rights Act, allowing GOP legislatures to enact some of the most racially discriminatory district maps in state history.
Last year, a federal judge in Georgia ruled that GOP-drawn maps were discriminatory and unlawful because they diluted Black voting power and ignored the state’s growing Black population.
In North Carolina, voting rights advocates filed suit charging GOP legislators with racially gerrymandering the state House and Senate maps by deliberately diluting the voting power of majority-Black areas.
And in Louisiana, a federal court determined that GOP-created maps violated the Voting Rights Act by weakening the power of Black voters. The state was ordered to finalize a new map
early this year.
Recently in Alabama, the Republican legislature refused to comply with a federal judge’s order to create fair voting maps that better represented Black voters. It had to be enforced by court order.
You want learn speak good about Ranked Choice Voting? 😂 The Oregon RCV Advocates are holding several “Speaker’s Bureau Training”sessions later this month. The first one is Wednesday, April 24 from 6 to 7 pm Virtually via Zoom!
Lots of changes in voting laws for 2024, especially in swing states. Don't assume voting will work the same way as last time. Find out what's changed in your state.
"Eric Hovde, a Republican candidate for Senate in Wisconsin, floated the bizarre idea that people in nursing homes should be disenfranchised because they’re simply too close to death to be 'in a point to vote.'”
This Influential #Conservative Group Is Making it Harder for #Idaho Districts to Fix Their Schools
The Idaho Freedom Foundation has gone beyond the #education culture wars by targeting local bond and levy #elections, which districts rely on heavily to build and repair #schools.
"Not voting at all, voting 'uncommitted,' or voting 3rd party (RFK, Jr.) gives the election to Trump, who not only wants Gaza eliminated or Ukraine turned over to Russia, but would also end all of the rights we have now that the Republicans haven’t already tried to eliminate.
We must VOTE BLUE all up and down the ballot in every state. Period."
Hmmm... is the UK's political system, that has for so long offered an advantage to the Tories about to cause them major damage?
Certainly, fragmenting parties are not served well by FPTP & if such a fragmentation is underway on the right, we may soon see an expanded interest in proportional representation & voting reform coming from the rump Tories & their political competitors;
how will that be received by mainstream PR enthusiasts?
India is holding a mammoth election with nearly a billion voters (www.bbc.co.uk)
The general election is the largest democratic exercise ever - almost one in eight people in the world can vote. On 19 April, Indians will begin choosing a new parliament for the next five years, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third consecutive term.