Michael Latner

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    As states redistrict, the Gerrymandering Wars continue but technology allows more public involvement than ever. 

As states redistrict, the Gerrymandering Wars continue but technology allows more public involvement than ever. 

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This year, state legislatures across the country are creating new maps for congressional and state legislative elections. Michael Latner, Alex Keena, Anthony McGann and Charles Anthony Smith give an overview of the current redistricting, writing that gerrymandering is often still the outcome where lawmakers are responsible for the process. They also draw attention to the increased role of technology in allowing the public and nonprofit groups to be […]

November 5th, 2021|Alex Keena, Anthony J.McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Elections and party politics across the US, Michael Latner|0 Comments|
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    Republican state legislatures are attacking voting rights. Congress has the power to fight back.

Republican state legislatures are attacking voting rights. Congress has the power to fight back.

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The 2020 election saw the Democratic Party re-take the White House and the United States Senate and hold control of the House of Representatives. In the months that have followed, Republican-controlled state legislatures have proposed more than 200 bills which would roll back voting ability and access. Michael Latner, Alex Keena, Anthony McGann and Charles Anthony Smith give an […]

March 25th, 2021|Alex Keena, Anthony J.McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Elections and party politics across the US, Michael Latner|0 Comments|
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    How gerrymandering in the states could lead to President Trump’s re-election

How gerrymandering in the states could lead to President Trump’s re-election

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As we approach the 2020 presidential election, there is growing concern over the US states’ ability to administer the election during the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael Latner, Alex Keena, Tony Smith, and Anthony McGann write that if the election result is close, and there are questions over the vote count, then state legislatures which are Republican-dominated due to partisan gerrymandering may […]

August 12th, 2020|Alex Keena, Anthony J.McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Elections and party politics across the US, Michael Latner|0 Comments|
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    La democracia y sus defensores deben de adaptarse al Coronavirus  

La democracia y sus defensores deben de adaptarse al Coronavirus  

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La pandemia del COVID-19 ha detenido muchos aspectos de la vida norteramericana, y los esfuerzos por mejorar la democracia estadounidense no han estado exentos. Fernando Tormos-Aponte y Michael Latner escriben que activistas por la reforma electoral deben encontrar nuevos modos de ejercer influencia política en línea y abrir espacios virtuales para asegurar que las elecciones sean justas. 

Activistas por la democracia electoral habían logrado avanzar medidas legislativas con […]

May 1st, 2020|Democracy and culture, Fernando Tormos-Aponte , Michael Latner|0 Comments|
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    Democracy and its advocates must adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic 

Democracy and its advocates must adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic 

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The COVID-19 pandemic has put much of American life on hold, and efforts to ensure the robustness of US democracy have not been exempt. Fernando Tormos-Aponte and Michael Latner write that, to ensure November’s general election is as free and fair as possible, electoral democracy advocates must now find new ways of exerting policy influence online and to open up virtual spaces to constituents and advocacy groups.

Read this article in Spanish/Lee […]

May 1st, 2020|Democracy and culture, Fernando Tormos-Aponte , Michael Latner|0 Comments|
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    The Supreme Court’s partisan gerrymandering decision is Justice Scalia’s last laugh. Democratic restoration now depends on the people alone. 

The Supreme Court’s partisan gerrymandering decision is Justice Scalia’s last laugh. Democratic restoration now depends on the people alone. 

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This week the United States Supreme Court determined that reviewing partisan gerrymandering cases was outside the remit of federal courts. Alex Keena, Michael Latner, Anthony J. McGann and Charles Anthony Smith argue that in failing to recognize the vote dilution caused by gerrymandering, as well as connecting the majority rule standard to the Fourteenth Amendment, the decision removes Americans’ fundamental right to participate equally in the […]

June 28th, 2019|Alex Keena, Anthony J.McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Elections and party politics across the US, Michael Latner|3 Comments|
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    The 2018 House elections may be historic enough to end the redistricting wars

The 2018 House elections may be historic enough to end the redistricting wars

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This year’s midterm elections saw reforms to the way US House districts are drawn in four states. Alongside these successful measures, write Alex Keena, Michael Latner, Anthony J. McGann and Charles Anthony Smith, Democratic takeovers of gubernatorial mansions and successful voting rights reforms such as Florida’s felon re-enfranchisement are likely to signal the beginning of an era of significant […]

November 22nd, 2018|Alex Keena, Anthony J.McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Elections and party politics across the US, Michael Latner|0 Comments|
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    In its latest decision, the Supreme Court has got it wrong when it says that partisan gerrymandering only hurts voters in specific districts

In its latest decision, the Supreme Court has got it wrong when it says that partisan gerrymandering only hurts voters in specific districts

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Last week, the US Supreme Court sent gerrymandering cases from Wisconsin, Maryland and North Carolina back to their respective states’ courts, with the unanimous opinion that state political parties could not prove that they were harmed by the gerrymandering of individual legislative districts. Alex Keena, Michael Latner, Anthony J. McGann and Charles Anthony Smith argue that the Supreme Court […]

June 27th, 2018|Alex Keena, Anthony J.McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Justice and Domestic Affairs, Michael Latner|1 Comment|
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    Maryland’s electoral maps show how proportional representation could solve the problem of gerrymandering

Maryland’s electoral maps show how proportional representation could solve the problem of gerrymandering

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This week the US Supreme Court hears a case concerning the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland. Examining current, past, and alternative electoral maps, Alex Keena, Michael Latner, Anthony J. McGann, and Charles Anthony Smith find that by making districts more competitive, some redistricting plans can actually work against one party or the other. Only the introduction of proportional representation […]

March 27th, 2018|Alex Keena, Anthony J.McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Elections and party politics across the US, Michael Latner|3 Comments|
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    The Supreme Court’s quiet gerrymandering revolution and the road to minority rule

The Supreme Court’s quiet gerrymandering revolution and the road to minority rule

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This month the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a Wisconsin case over the constitutionality of the Republican-dominated state legislature’s redistricting plan. Michael Latner, Anthony McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, and Alex Keena argue that while this case is important, no matter what it decides, the Supreme Court has already enabled large-scale gerrymandering. They write that the Court’s 2004 […]

October 25th, 2017|Alex Keena, Anthony J.McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Elections and party politics across the US, Michael Latner|2 Comments|
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