REP scholars and others who express skepticism about electoral-system reform are right to do so. Reforms now presented as “incremental” alternatives to PR are fundamentally about breaking up the party of inclusion, then constraining representation at the same time.

We've probably learned more about American politics from the ANES than any other single data source. The same is true for the GSS and sociology. Both of these are gone if Congress acquiesces to these NSF cuts.

Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · 5d ago

NEW: In March the White House released an FY27 budget request that zeroed out the National Science Foundation's directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). For months it was unclear what would happen. Now, with FY26 over, the damage to SBE is coming to light. My reporting:

“In their statements, both men say the nonpartisan primary system Massachusetts cities already use in local elections is far superior to closed partisan primaries.” ivn.us/deval-patric... Massachusetts has open primaries.

Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker Back Question 3 to Truly Open Massachusetts Primaries

Former Massachusetts governors Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker have endorsed Question 3, a November ballot measure that would open the state's primaries to all voters regardless of party affiliation.

ivn.us

Today I’m starting something new with the Tally Room podcast: a three-part history podcast looking at the history of OPV in Australia, rolling out over the next 3 weeks. This first episode looks at early debates on preferential voting and how it worked up to 1951. www.tallyroom.com.au/68638

Podcast #168 – Just Vote 1: The rise of preferential voting

In the first in a three-party election history series about Optional Preferential Voting called ‘Just Vote 1’, Ben explores the rise of preferential voting – how it happened, who …

tallyroom.com.au

There is a short book I need to write before year’s end. I may put other stuff on hold to get it done.

Interesting discussion with New Zealand colleagues on the potential of citizens' assemblies, and the potential that it could help in debates about their housing crisis chahub.org.nz/podcasts/319...

CHA Hub – Podcast: David Farrell - The courage to choose

David Farrell draws on Ireland’s citizens’ assembly experience to explain what makes deliberative democracy work. We discuss political follow-through, involving politicians directly, why housing shoul...

chahub.org.nz

In a year’s time, the radical right could very easily be in government in France, Spain, Italy, Austria and Finland. The lamps are going out all over Europe.

www.voteguy.com/2026/10/05/w...

A new special issue of @poqjournal.bsky.social explores how #publicopinionresearch can be strengthened by examining the political, cultural, historical & social contexts in which attitudes & behaviors take shape: academic.oup.com/poq/issue/90...

Volume 90 Issue SI | Public Opinion Quarterly | Oxford Academic

An official journal of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. Publishes theoretical research on opinion and communication research, analyses of public opinion, and investigations of met...

academic.oup.com

The book was edited by prof. Nicholas Jacobs, and among contributors are @klunztrujillo.bsky.social @mshepruralpolitics.bsky.social @zoenemerever.bsky.social @charlesrhunt.com @benjamintoff.bsky.social and many others. Check it out! www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Rethinking Rural Politics

Rural communities in the United States have become a distinctive political concern. In this interdisciplinary volume, Nicholas Jacobs brings together a collection of leading experts in rural studies t...

degruyterbrill.com

Analogizing recent U.S. elections to past ones. Thoughts? 2016 ≈ 1912 2020 ≈ ? 2024 ≈ 1916 2028 ≈ return to “normalcy”

6/6 🧵In @socioeconreview.bsky.social @schechtlm.eurosky.social shows that there is more democratic backsliding in 🇺🇸 states where wealth concentration has increased more. Causality addressed by state FEs and shift-share instrument doi.org/rrnj

U.S. Hist II discussing FDR's New Deal messaging tomorrow. One of the sources I assigned is his Fireside Chat #1, both read the transcript and listen to the address: millercenter.org/the-presiden... Plan on asking them how this address compares with communication in our current social media age

I hope you'll join us on Tuesday, October 6 (4:30 PM ET online) for the next conversation in the Scholars Strategy Network's Defending U.S. Democracy series, featuring Colin Woodard and Jennifer McCoy. See flyer for details. Register: scholars.my.salesforce-sites.com/event/home/d...

In BiH, growing detachment among citizens from the consociational governing arrangements. As in Northern Ireland, continued debate as to whether these incentivise communal separation or are simply an unavoidable recognition of these – or possibly both.

Europe Elects@europeelects.bsky.social · last wk.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: (general election) Final Turnout 1996: 80.42% 1998: 67.87% 2002: 55.45% 2006: 55.31% 2010: 56.57% 2014: 54.47% 2018: 54.02% 2022: 51.45% 2026: 41.48% Source: Central Electoral Commission (CIK) ➤ europeelects.eu/bosnia-and-herzegovina #BosniaandHerzegovina

Is anyone maintaining APSA Preprints?

I have a new article out with Jeff Jenkins in the Journal of Historical Political Economy thinking through the ways party machines might have used control over patronage to balance out the desire to bring out voters, build political careers, and benefit financially; www.emerald.com/jhpe/article...

US re-democratization could be difficult if it comes across as too cliquey and/or Ivy League-driven.

Okay I'm crazy so I had Claude create an interactive dashboard where you can model the results. claude.ai/artifact/XQN...

E.J. Fagan@ejfagan.com · last wk.

Assuming a uniform national shift from 2022, here is my estimate of what gains Democrats could make in state legislatures. Right now they take AZ, WI, MN, MI. PA Senate likely. Some others in striking distance. Vibe coding caveats apply.

snfagora.jhu.edu/resources/un...

Understanding Evolving Republican Attitudes Towards Democracy

Insightful reports, innovative tools, and research publications aimed at enhancing civic engagement and strengthening democracy. Learn more. Understanding Evolving Republican Attitudes Towards Democra...

snfagora.jhu.edu

Lucan Way and I have been writing about competitive authoritarianism for more than 25 years. We never thought we'd write this piece. www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/com...

Competitive Authoritarianism in America | Journal of Democracy

The United States has slid into competitive authoritarianism. The slide has been modest and remains reversible—but it is real. Even after Donald Trump, American democracy will remain fragile.

journalofdemocracy.org

Polarization is not the problem. The problem: ethnonationalists threatening vulnerable citizens' rights. "The people who are the most 'polarized' in the U.S. electorate are those who are racist and sexist, and those who oppose racists and sexists." @lilymasonphd.bsky.social muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Oh great -- glad to see that this Open Access piece on why White Americans support democratic retrenchment is now in an issue (with some great other folks!) at Political Behavior: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Reminder: if you are teaching urban politics, NYC politics, or electoral systems… …you can view all the 2025 council results here (jacksantucci.github.io/nyc-pr-simul...), simulate other electoral systems, and compare several resulting indices used in comparative politics.

Reminder: if you are teaching urban politics, NYC politics, or electoral systems… …you can view all the 2025 council results here (jacksantucci.github.io/nyc-pr-simul...), simulate other electoral systems, and compare several resulting indices used in comparative politics.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The effects of changing electoral systems from first-past-the-post to single transferable vote: causal evidence from New Zealand - Public Choice

The literature on electoral systems suggests that a shift from first-past-the-post (FPP) to the Single Transferable Vote (STV) should lead to several changes in electoral outcomes, including increased...

link.springer.com

AI is poised to reconfigure the economy and politics. In POQ, Borwein et al. find that while some are supportive of AI, a plurality perceive AI as a threat, and these perceptions are easily connected to reactionary policy preferences. Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/...

New paper with @mjnelson.bsky.social Affluent + highly educated are more knowledgeable about state policies. Issue publics reduce knowledge disparities for some groups (LGBT on LGBT issues, women on abortion), but these disparities remain within issue publics. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Can Issue Publics Overcome Inequalities in State Policy Knowledge? | State Politics & Policy Quarterly | Cambridge Core

Can Issue Publics Overcome Inequalities in State Policy Knowledge?

cambridge.org

🧩 Do voters dislike parties that mix left and right positions? In ten countries, @rdassonneville.bsky.social, Patrick Fournier & @zeynsom.bsky.social find voters know less about such parties and like them less, in part because of the inconsistency itself. 🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0140...

I have a piece in today's @bangordailynews.bsky.social where I argue that we need to defend the broader goals of higher ed: developing engaged and worldly citizens who know how to think critically and are prepared for democratic self-government. www.bangordailynews.com/2026/09/24/o...

Opinion: Higher education is about much more than career preparation

“Post-secondary education has always been about creating an educated citizenry to benefit individuals and the nation as a whole.”

bangordailynews.com