In January 2017, shortly after the Inauguration, I provided a ten-item checklist of signs of authoritarianism. It seemed like a good idea to think in advance about what might happen, and lay down a marker in advance. In addition, I was concerned that the press, television media, and citizens might become desensitized to the news. […]
Entries Tagged as 'Supreme Court'
Authoritarianism in 2020: Checking the checklist
June 4th, 2020, 12:47pm by Sam Wang
Tags: President · Supreme Court · U.S. Institutions
A Fifty-State Guide To Redistricting Reform
July 13th, 2019, 6:00pm by Sam Wang
As I wrote in today’s New York Times, despite the failure of the Supreme Court to act, there’s a way forward to stop gerrymandering. Here at the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, we’ve assessed the best route to reform in your state. Check it out! One route to reform goes through state courts, as Ben Williams reported […]
Tags: Redistricting · Supreme Court
John Roberts’s disproportionate error
June 27th, 2019, 1:05pm by Sam Wang
Today, the Supreme Court ran away from the question of partisan gerrymandering. Chief Justice Roberts’s majority decision cited the problem of “proportional representation” as an impediment to establishing a standard of fairness. His argument has a major logical problem which is easily fixed – though at this point, it will have to be done in […]
Tags: Redistricting · Supreme Court
Princeton brief in Rucho v. Common Cause
March 8th, 2019, 5:26pm by Sam Wang
Wesley Pegden of Carnegie-Mellon University, Jonathan Rodden of Stanford University, and I joined forces on an amicus brief (PDF). We offered the court our views on the federal partisan gerrymandering case from North Carolina, Rucho v. Common Cause (this link goes to all the other briefs as well). We describe to the court how the various […]
Tags: Redistricting · Supreme Court
Laboratories of Democracy Reform: State Constitutions and Partisan Gerrymandering
February 15th, 2019, 10:46pm by Sam Wang
Uncertain about whether the Supreme Court will do anything about partisan gerrymandering? We have something for you. Rick Ober, Ben Williams, and I have completed a manuscript, “Laboratories of Democracy Reform: State Constitutions and Partisan Gerrymandering.” It’s available here on SSRN and here as a PDF. In our article, we argue that partisan gerrymandering can […]
Tags: Redistricting · Supreme Court
Supreme Court partisanship comes into full view
October 9th, 2018, 12:07pm by Sam Wang
Kavanaugh’s successful confirmation vote was the closest ever. It’s the culmination of a two-decade trend in all-out partisan warfare, the seeds of which were planted when Gingrich and McConnell swept into power in 1994. It’s now reached a seeming pinnacle with the confirmation of a party insider who was a player in the Starr investigation, […]
Tags: 2018 Election · Senate · Supreme Court
Post-Labor Day movement: for Republicans, a Kavanaugh effect?
October 5th, 2018, 9:24am by Sam Wang
We’re off to a late start this year; more balls in the air, especially gerrymandering, and a busy term. The House and Senate calculations are running for 2018, though we’re still polishing the display. The calculations are designed to pick up movement quickly. Here’s something notable: since Labor Day, both indicators show distinct movement, about […]
Tags: 2018 Election · House · Senate · Supreme Court
Kennedy’s out
June 27th, 2018, 7:10pm by Sam Wang
Action on partisan gerrymandering by the Supreme Court was already on its last legs with the Gill decision. With Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, at least now we won’t have to sit around wondering what will happen next. To tell the truth, he seemed so passive this term. Stayed with the conservatives on every decision, and […]
Tags: Supreme Court
Texas successfully runs out the clock – and sets an ominous standard
June 25th, 2018, 11:09am by Sam Wang
First, the partisan-gerrymandering news. The North Carolina case, Rucho v. Common Cause, was sent back for reconsideration (“vacate and remand”) in light of the Court’s decision in Gill v. Whitford. Retrying Rucho would take a while, so hopefully they will find a faster way. Now, to racial gerrymandering. In the last redistricting case of this […]
Tags: Redistricting · Supreme Court
Both Sides Now
June 20th, 2018, 6:06pm by Sam Wang
Although I wasn’t thrilled to see the Supreme Court kick the can down the road, the Roberts decision and the Kagan concurrence are quite clarifying, logically speaking. These justices have, in some ways, sorted things out nicely.
Tags: Redistricting · Supreme Court
