Author Archives
I run Political Charge to give people the knowledge and inspiration to take charge of their political activism. You can also follow me on Twitter at @dhstokyo.
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9 Reasons Why You Should Vote in the Primary
Nationwide, primaries only see an average of 20% turnout. Instead of delving into why people don’t vote in the primaries, let’s talk about why people SHOULD vote in the primaries: ○ With fewer people voting, every vote carries more weight. ○… Read More ›
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Who’s Retiring From Congress?
There are quite a number of Senators and Representatives who are either not running for re-election or running for a different position (noted with an asterisk). Here are the retiring members of Congress (in state alphabetical order) followed by how… Read More ›
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Maine’s Instant Runoff Experiment
Maine has its midterm primary election on June 12. That election will feature the nation’s first instant runoff to determine the winners for any race where the top candidate does not garner 50% or more of the votes. This is… Read More ›
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Illinois 3/20 Primaries At a Glance
Illinois has its statewide primary election on Tuesday, March 20. Here are a few facts about the state and three key races, with the names of the Democratic candidates and links to their campaign websites. The winner of the primary… Read More ›
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All Politics are Local: Montana Edition
“All politics are local.” In this day and age, with all of the communications tools we have, it is easy to forget that politics are local. In the age of Trump, every election leading up to the midterms seems like… Read More ›
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How to Get Out the Vote (GOTV)
In order to win an election, a candidate must turn out more of their voters than their opponent. That’s why Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts are so important. A successful GOTV campaign is, of course, predicated on how well… Read More ›
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15 Ways You Can Help Get More People Registered to Vote
The act of voting is a centerpiece of our American democracy. But before you can vote, you must be registered to vote. A conservative estimate from the Pew Charitable Trusts indicated that just over 1 in 5 eligible Americans are… Read More ›
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Voting Rights Trial with Kobach Gets Underway
The ACLU, representing several groups, sued Kansas charging that a law Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach had passed undermined the fundamental right to vote and that it violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The trial started March 6…. Read More ›
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Can Jungle (or Top-Two) Primaries be a Problem in 2018?
A jungle primary, otherwise known as a top-two primary, is one in which the top two vote-getters regardless of party move on to the general election. This can lead to two candidates from the same party to move forward. At… Read More ›
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Gov Walker Refuses to Call Special Elections; Gets Sued
A bedrock principle of our democracy is that we as citizens get representation in the government. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has refused to call special elections for two legislative seats that are vacant (due to those two legislators going to… Read More ›
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Early Voting in Texas Tells An Interesting Story
Today, Dallas News posted this attention-grabbing headline: Texas Democrats’ early voting totals should ‘shock every conservative to their core,’ Abbott email says We recently wrote about why Texas’ voter turnout is so low and what can be done about it…. Read More ›
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BlueWave Interview: Pat Gunn on canvassing for a special election
This week our BlueWave Interview is with Pat Gunn in Washington. Pat worked to help Manka Dhingra win a Senate seat in the Washington legislature last year, a win that flipped the control of that Senate and turned the entire… Read More ›
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Special (& Primary!) Elections in March 2018
There are 2 state primaries and 6 special elections scheduled in March 2018. For the special elections, click on the district number (courtesy of Ballotpedia) to get the information you need such as: a map outlining the district, why the… Read More ›
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Pennsylvania Replaces Gerrymandered Map
Last year, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled that the way their congressional districts were drawn in 2011 were an illegal partisan gerrymander and ordered that new maps be drawn in time for the 2018 midterm elections. After a lot of legal… Read More ›
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How Disinformation Affects Elections
Yesterday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians and 3 organizations for interfering with the U.S. political system by using “information warfare” to sow discord in numerous ways. The Atlantic has a good explanation of what the indictment means here, and… Read More ›
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5 Reasons to Attend Town Halls
Congress has numerous breaks so elected officials can get back to their districts and spend time with their constituents. During these recesses, they schedule various public events, including town halls. (Well, they are supposed to. Some are better than others… Read More ›
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An Eye on Redistricting: How the NDRC is Approaching Midterms
Early in 2017, Former Attorney General Eric Holder created the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC). The aim of the NDRC was to erase the gains the Republicans had made in state and congressional seats through gerrymandering. A few days ago,… Read More ›
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BlueWave Interview: Pam Rickel on being a precinct chair in Texas
This week our BlueWave Interview is with Pam Rickel in Texas. Want to know how fired up Democrats in Texas are? Pam, for one, has taken “getting involved” to a whole new level! Here is our interview. TS: Let’s… Read More ›
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Midterm Election News Roundup
There was quite a lot of midterm election related news these last few days. Here’s a recap of some of the bigger stories plus a note about what it all means. Democrats expand the midterm battlefield: To take control of… Read More ›
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Results: 2/6 Missouri Special Elections
Missouri held four special elections for vacant seats tonight. The Democrats flipped one of the seats and saw a huge shift in their direction in all of the districts. Here are the details: Missouri House District 97 – FLIPS to… Read More ›