Linkagogo Archive 1: Elections

Stephen Hill Linkography: Elections

Moderate Muslims Are the World's Swing Voters
Posted: 3 February 2009 - Huffington Post. Moderate Muslims should be seen as the world's swing voters. The Obama administration should think carefully about the lessons of the past eight years, indeed the past 80 years. There are hundreds of millions of moderate Muslims in the world, and they are waiting for an American partner that is cognizant of its role in a long, difficult history of colonialism and imperialist interventions. They, too, are looking for a "new deal." A president with the name of Barack Hussein Obama presents an opportunity, but the opening may not last long.

In Canada, Regular Folks Are Put to Work on Reforms
San Jose Mercury News, by Steven Hill, 17 November 2004. One of the solutions may lie across the border in Canada. It's called a Citizens' Assembly, and it was on display last year in the province of British Columbia. The government there turned over to the people the task of basic political reform, and by doing so took the partisanship out of the process, something California badly needs.

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Stephen Hill Linkography: Electoral Politics

Fixing Elections: The Failure of America's Winner Take All Politics
Book: published - Routledge, 2003. On November 9th 2000, two days after the presidential election, as the nation was beginning to absorb the full extent of the five-week debacle that was about to ensue, USA Today published a map (similar to the one printed on the back cover of this book) that was portentous in its message.

Study Shows "Top Two" Could Elect More Extremists, Not Moderates
Post: 10 March 2009 on a blog from New America's Political Reform Program. Here is some brand new analysis from Washington state results that might shed light on the efficacy of the top two primary, which many are promoting as a good thing for CA. It is especially directed at whether the top two would elect more moderates -- or more extremists? This evidence below suggests it's a bit of a crapshoot, the top two primary could as easily elect more extremists as elect more moderates. Follow the link above for details.

Who's Right Now? Europe's Far-Right Resurgence Fizzles Out
Article: 1 February 2003 - The American Prospect. The idea of European society as a "melting pot" or "rainbow quilt" is alien and new, and undoubtedly there will be strains for some time to come. But for the American media and punditry -- right, left and mainstream -- to portray the situation as one in which Nazis and fascists are gaining a real foothold in Europe is erroneous and hyperbolic.

Why Progressives Lose: Affirmative Action For Conservatives
Article: June 2003 - Progressive Populis. It is deeply ironic that, for all the radical conservative philosophy oozing from the ideologues of the Republican Party, low-population, conservative, and predominantly white states have benefited from the most flagrant form of representational affirmative action. The representation scheme for the U.S. Senate and Electoral College was founded on quotas for low-population states that have disproportionately favored conservative and white-dominated states for decades.

The World Wide Webbed: The Obama Campaign’s Masterful Use of the Internet
Article: 6 April 2009 - Social Europe Journal. Just as President Barack Obama has shaken up the status quo in his first 100 days in office, his campaign overturned old formulas about how to win the presidency. The Obama campaign did not focus only on battleground states, but instead charged into states that previously had been solidly Republican turf.

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Stephen Hill Linkography: California

Monetary Fix For California: Let’s Ditch
The U.S. Dollar
Article: 13 March 2011 - Sacramento Bee. (a version also was published in The Guardian) Many solutions have been proposed to the political and economic crises of our Golden State, with Gov. Jerry Brown calling for a June election to deal with the state budget.

Make State Government More Efficient, Less Expensive
Article: 11 May 2011 - Los Angeles Times. Having four separate agencies controlling finance and taxes, and three separate entities covering education, seems like overkill. And do we really need a lieutenant governor?

Schwarzenegger vs. Gerrymander
Article: 19 February 2005 - New York Times. A nonpartisan redistricting commission may make a few more legislative seats more competitive. And it certainly would have the salutary effect of changing the public perception that incumbents have a hand in rigging their own district lines. But such tinkering is not likely to change much else.

Steven Hill on Rewriting California's Constitution
Interview: 19 August 2009 - KALW's Ben Trefny sat down with Steven Hill. (AUDIO) A small and growing group of California citizens are angry that the state's budget process appears to be broken and they've decided to take action. Legislators are crafting dozens of plans to ease the budget process, but civic groups aren't waiting. The Bay Area Council is calling for a constitutional convention for the state--one comprised of randomly selected citizen delegates who would determine policy without the pressures of voters or the influence of lobbyists. But, how would it work?

What the U.S. (Even California) Can Learn
From Europe

Event featured speaker: 16 February 2010 -
CSAC (California State Association of Counties)
Legislative Conference. The New America Foundation hosts a conversation with Steven Hill about his new book: Europe's Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age. Watch this video and find out why California would be better off seceding from the U.S. and joining the European Union!

Pros And Cons of a Top-Two Primary: State Sen. Abel Maldonado Wants One, But Will It Help California?

Article: 20 February 2009 Los Angeles Times. State Sen. Abel Maldonado, a Republican legislator from the Central Coast, had the Democrats over a budget barrel and extracted from them the ultimate insider's deal -- they would put three of his pet ideas on the 2010 ballot (as constitutional amendments) in return for his deciding vote on the budget. You have to admire Maldonado's moxie even as you're appalled at this latest example of how broken the legislative process in Sacramento has become.

The Way Forward for Political Reform
Article: 19 December 2006 - San Francisco Chronicle. A new opinion poll finds that California voters overwhelmingly support improvements in the election process, but there's a catch -- it depends on who is proposing them. Turn the details over to a California Citizens' Assembly, and let average citizens decide what political reform is best for California.

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Stephen Hill Linkography: Ballot Boxing

A New Era of Politics: Campaigning With Ranked Choice Voting
Event: 13 May 2010, hosted by Oakland Rising and New America Foundation. With Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) voters can rank a first, second and third choice, and winning candidates are elected in a single November election instead of over two elections in June and November. This boosts turnout, saves taxpayers the cost of a second election and saves candidates the cost of fundraising for two elections.

10 Steps to Better Elections
Article: 1 May 2005 - Sierra Magazine. Over a century ago, the Supreme Court referred to "the political franchise of voting" as a "fundamental political right,

because preservative of all rights". But it's still a right we must fight for. These ten reforms could help our politicians revitalize American representative democracy in the 21st century. They will not be easy to achieve, because the party in power has little incentive to change the system that has served it so well.

Revamping the Primary Election System
Talk radio interview: 31 July 2008 – KALW News, host Hana Baba. (Audio) - Hill briefly discusses how the state primary and caucus system works, and gives details for improving the method used for scheduling primaries. He explains why reform is necessary and that it's up to the Democratic and Republican committees to come together and make it happen.

De-Spoiling the Election
Article: 12 July 2004 by Steven Hill & Rob Richie – The Nation.

The article looks at the presidential race in the United States in 2004. Hill suggests that Democrats could pass into law a runoff or instant-runoff system with a majority requirement for President, to insure that the center left does not split its vote between Kerry and Nader. Instant-runoff voting also saves candidates the campaign costs of a runoff election and preserves more voter choice in the decisive November election, when voter turnout is highest.

New Voting Method to Improve Democracy
is Catching On
Article: 15 December 2006 – OpEd News. Political reforms such as redistricting reform, fusion and campaign finance reform have been floundering at the ballot box in recent years, rejected by voters in several states. But another political reform, instant runoff voting, has been quietly racking up impressive victories.

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