Al Vanderklipp

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social

Researcher, Democracy + Elections @sightline.org; diner regular on my own time 🥞☕ (Personal account! Views are my own.)

After Alaska and Portland, OR upgraded their elections to ranked choice voting, campaigners had to pivot—but some strategies stayed the same. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social shares notes for Multnomah County (OR), Seattle, and other places soon to switch.

How to Run a Campaign Under Ranked Choice Voting, According to Those Who Have Done It | Sightline Institute

Campaign staffers and political organizers recount how they shifted strategies after voters in Alaska and Portland, Oregon, chose the reform.

sightline.org

this WILL be relegated to the dust bin of history. it will take time, it will take effort, and it will not be easy. but this sort of bigotry will age like fucking milk, and we will look back on it with the same contempt that we do other Supreme Court opinions that gleefully entrench inequality.

Jay Willis@jaywillis.net · last mo.

Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion in the trans sports ban case in West Virginia contains some of the ugliest transphobic stuff I have ever seen in a legal opinion. Straight-up gleeful. Vile man. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

2 WEST VIRGINIA v. B. P. J.
THOMAS, J., concurring
judgment). Because “gender dysphoria” is a mutable men-
tal state that is the object of psychiatric treatment, it does
not resemble the immutable characteristics on the basis of
which our precedents have applied heightened scrutiny—
race, sex, or national origin. Instead, gender dysphoria re-
sembles other characteristics on the basis of which legisla-
tures may classify with a merely rational basis. See, e.g.,
Heller v. Doe, 509 U. S. 312, 321 (1993) (mental illness);
Plyler v. Doe, 457 U. S. 202, 220 (1982) (immigration sta-
tus). Legislatures have many obvious rational bases to
keep men who believe that they are women out of teams
and private spaces reserved for women.
Second, as the Court recognizes, this case concerns “bio-
logical men” and “boys who identify as girls.” Ante, at 10,
27. Men and boys with gender dysphoria are not women or
girls, even if they believe that they are. Sex is an immuta-
ble “biological” characteristic, see ante, at 10; it is binary;
and “man” and “woman,” “boy” and “girl,” are the terms that
correspond to adults and children of each sex. See A. Byrne,
Are Women Adult Human Females? 177 Philosophical
Studies 3783, 3786–3787 (2020). To use language to ob-
scure reality—to show “indifference regarding the truth”—
is to lie to the public and cease to treat our fellow citizens
“as equal[s].” J. Pieper, Abuse of Language—Abuse of
Power 17, 21 (1992).

Hey, during my sabbatical I made a podcast! It’s a one-shot miniseries about what happened after the world’s most ambitious upzoning campaign won. Here’s the trailer; episodes coming weekly all through June & July. You can subscribe on Apple/Spotify/etc. rss.com/podcasts/yim...

YIMBY Country | Podcast on RSS.com

In 2021, the nation of New Zealand announced the YIMBY rapture.In the country's five largest cities, you would be allowed to build up to eight-story buildings anywhere within a 10-minute walk of mass ...

rss.com

Whether Rep. García in Illinois or Sen. Daines in Montana, last-minute "drop-and-swap" manuevers deny voters a chance to pick from a competitive candidate field. I wrote about how Missouri makes such ploys impossible for @sightline.org: www.sightline.org/2026/05/26/h...

How to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline Institute

Sen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.

sightline.org

Here's how it went down: Kurt Alme put his name in the running for Senate 8 mins before the deadline. Moments later, sitting Sen. Steve Daines dropped out, and fired off an Alme endorsement alongside Trump. A simple law could prevent future backroom deals. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

How to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline Institute

Sen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.

sightline.org

#RankedChoiceVoting allows voters to express nuanced political opinions and back their favorite candidate without spoiling an election for their number two. From @alvanderklipp.bsky.social & @jayleetx.com: Cross-partisan support on Alaska ballots is a feature, not a fluke.

From Peltola to Begich, Ranked Choice Voting Delivered What Alaskans Wanted | Sightline Institute

Cross-party appeal elevated Alaska’s former and current US representatives.

sightline.org

Ranked choice voting elevates candidates who speak to the broadest swath of voters. In the 2022 contests for AK's US House seat, that was Mary Peltola. In 2024, it was Nick Begich. It really is that simple. New analysis of ballot data from myself and @jayleetx.com for @sightline.org below. ⬇️

Sightline Institute@sightline.org · 3mo ago

#RankedChoiceVoting allows voters to express nuanced political opinions and back their favorite candidate without spoiling an election for their number two. From @alvanderklipp.bsky.social & @jayleetx.com: Cross-partisan support on Alaska ballots is a feature, not a fluke.

It’s not an #AMA, it’s an #AAA: Ask Al Anything! Our new-to-bsky researcher @alvanderklipp.bsky.social is on deck until 3PT today to answer any Qs you might have on proportional representation. No such thing as a dumb question. DM and we’ll pass it along anonymously.

Al Vanderklipp@alvanderklipp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Good morning Bluesky! I’m @sightline.org researcher Al Vanderklipp, and I’ll be fielding your questions about proportional representation today. Reply to this thread and I’ll do my best to answer anything you want to know. ☺️ #AMA

Sightline researcher Al Vanderklipp holds up a handwritten sign prompting bluesky users to “ask him anything.”