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The 12 worst House districts: Experts label gerrymandering's dirty dozen

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Florida voter site goes dark. Routine maintenance or suppression?

Florida voter site goes dark. Routine maintenance or suppression?

Florida's voter registration site went down over the weekend, angering Democrats prepping for a statewide voter registration drive.

Our Staff
By Our StaffSep 23, 2019
Our Staff
The Fulcrum staff.
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Florida's voter registration website went down over the weekend, angering Democrats who accused the state's Republican governor of voter suppression just days ahead of a national voter registration drive.

The website went down Friday night for "routine maintenance," the site said, and was online again Sunday.

Democrats said they beieved Gov. Ron DeSantis orchestrated the shutdown to interrupt plans to register voters over the weekend and ahead of Tuesday's National Voter Registration Day, the single largest campaign to register voters.

"Shuttering the online voter registration site for 'maintenance' as we kick off our largest voter registration week is the latest act of voter suppression from a governor who has doubled down on voter suppression tactics during his short tenure," said Terrie Rizzo, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party.

A spokeswoman for the department that oversees Florida's elections said the scheduled maintenance was announced in advance, and was designed to provide increased security and ensure an expected surge in traffic during the registration drive.

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Nebraska's Capitol houses a unicameral legislature, unique in American politics.

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100 years ago, a Nebraska Republican fought for democracy reform

Gruber is senior vice president of Open Primaries.

With Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s announcement on Sept. 24 that he doesn't have enough votes to call a special session of the Legislature to change the way the state allocates electoral votes, an effort led by former President Donald Trump to pressure the Legislature officially failed.

Nebraska is one of only two states that award a single Electoral College vote to the winner in each congressional district, plus two votes to the statewide winner of the presidential popular vote. Much has been made — justifiably — of Republican state Sen. Mike McDonnell’s heroic decision to buck enormous political pressure from his party to fall in line, and choosing instead to single-handedly defeat the measure. The origins of the senator's independence, though, began in a 100-old experiment in democracy reform.

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An election official staffs a voting location in Lansing, Mich., during the state's Aug. 6, primary.

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Closed primaries, gerrymandering eliminate competition for House seats

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There are 435 voting members of the House of Representatives. But few of those districts — 55, to be exact — will be decided on Election Day, according to new data from the nonprofit organization Unite America. That’s because the vast majority of races were effectively decided during the primaries.

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It is quite clear that the presidential election is going to be incredibly close. In each of the seven swing states, the margin of error is less than 2 percent.

As citizens, this is not something to fear and it is critically important that we all trust the election results.

As part of our ongoing series for the Election Overtime Project, today we present a guide explaining in detail what you, as a voter, need to know about the role of state legislatures and Congress in a presidential election. The guide was prepared by the Election Reformers Network, a nonprofit organization championing impartial elections and concrete policy solutions that strengthen American democracy.

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The 2024 election cycle is already a historic year for election reform. Six states plus the District of Columbia have measures on the Nov. 5 ballot that open taxpayer-funded primary elections to voters outside the Republican and Democratic parties.

It is the first time in U.S. history that this many statewide primary reform initiatives have been offered up in the same election, something reform leaders are celebrating as they rally citizens to show their support for open primaries.

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