elections

You Can Find a Lot of Hope in Mexico’s Democracy

The Headlines Are Dire, But the Country’s Citizen-Run Elections Should Remain Trustworthy—And a Model for the Rest of the World

A man in a mask and sunglasses cast a vote into a box. In the background, poll workers wearing masks sit at a blue table.

In these times of misinformation and mistrust, where might we find a way to restore trust in our elections and in our democracies?

There are two answers: in Mexico. And in ourselves.

You may be reading international news headlines about a Mexican conflict over democracy. There, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his congressional allies recently passed legislation to strip the country’s independent electoral authorities of some staffing and budget, as well as some of their power to police elections.

That is a troubling development. But the breathless news reports leave out crucial …

by Joe Mathews |

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California Should’ve Called the Whole Election Off

November Ballots Are Predictable and Chock Full of Stuff We Don’t Care About. They Don’t Have to Be

by Joe Mathews |

Question: What would Californians have lost if we had canceled the election that concludes November 8?

Answer: Nothing. We might even be better off.

Our fall elections have become unnecessary at best, …

Why Are L.A. Mayoral Campaigns Getting the Candidates So Wrong?

The Bass and Caruso You Think You Know Are Based on Misperceptions. That’s a Problem for California’s Local Politics

by Joe Mathews |

The Los Angeles mayoral campaign has become an exercise in misinformation, clouding the public’s muddled perceptions of how municipal government actually works in this state.

The problem emanates from the upside-down …

What America Can Learn From India’s Weeks-Long Elections | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

What America Can Learn From India’s Weeks-Long Elections

Keep the Faith, Even If Results Are Slow to Come In—‘Democracy Delayed Is Not Democracy Denied’

by Sandip Roy |

Americans have long been accustomed to knowing the results of elections by the time they go to bed on Election Day. This year is forcing them to realize that’s not …

Making the California Legislature 50 Percent Female Should Be Easy

The Gender Quotas Used in European Countries Offer a Straightforward Path to Parity—and More Democracy

by Joe Mathews |

A few months ago, the new mayor of South Pasadena appointed 18 people to the voluntary local commissions that advise the council in the San Gabriel Valley city.

Routine? Yes, except …


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