“The court explained that the challenged at-large electoral systems had been created against the backdrop of Alabama’s ‘unrelenting historical agenda, spanning from the late 1800s to the 1980s, to keep its black citizens economically, socially, and politically downtrodden, from the cradle to the grave.’” —U.S. District Judge John D. Bates Shelby County v. Holder, September […]

Read more

No Democracy Without Reform The last election was an absolutely disgusting spectacle in Ohio, largely but not totally due to the stunning influx of TV and radio commercials from the so-called super-PACs. [“Smart Money,” Washington Spectator, December 1, 2012] Many of us just about wore out the mute button on our TV clickers! It seems […]

Read more

Last month, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Shelby County v. Holder, a case challenging the constitutionality of a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The cornerstone provision is known as Section 5, which requires some states and localities to get federal clearance before making any changes to their voting laws. What […]

Read more

In a 1988 New Yorker article, Ronnie Dugger asked: “[C]ould electronic illusionists steal the Presidency by fixing the vote-counting apparatus in just four or five major metropolitan areas?” Less than two months before the 2012 election, the situation Dugger described seemed to be unfolding in Ohio, where software patches were installed on Election Systems & Software […]

Read more

For 30 years, Karl Rove has won elections by a formula that depended on deceit and defamation. A whispering campaign that described Texas Governor Ann Richards as a closet lesbian; an announcement that two aides working for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower would be indicted (before Justice Department lawyers made any announcement about indictments); rumors […]

Read more