At a time when primary turnout is already taking a hit from the coronavirus, a new photo ID requirement in Kentucky looms as another deterrent from the polls this year.

Legislation cleared Thursday by the General Assembly would require would-be voters show a driver's license or other government-issued identification with a photo. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has signaled he opposes the bill, but his veto would have minimal effect because the House and Senate are solidly Republican and have the power to override him by simple majority.

Tallahassee, FL - In a stunning rebuke of the Repunlican and Democratic parties and Attorney General Ashley Moody, the Florida Supreme Court cleared the way for voters to decide whether to overhaul the state’s primary-election system

The ruling will be on the November 2020 ballot so voters can decide whether to replace Florida's closed primary system with a nonpartisan top two system for state offices.  

The Coronavirus Pandemic, and perhaps more importantly, the reaction to it in the age of social media, is the first defining event of the current decade.

The coronavirus infects the lungs and causes symptoms ranging in seriousness from those of the common cold in mild cases, to severe influenza in the worst cases.
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I recently had the pleasure of watching Slay the Dragon, Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance’s stunning documentary on the fight against partisan gerrymandering in Michigan and Wisconsin. It played before a full house at Betaworks Studios in lower Manhattan.

UPDATE: An important court case that could change the way the court views partisanship in the courtroom will be heading to the Supreme Court on March 25th. At stake is whether party affiliation, when it comes to judges, can be a criterion for the who gets elected. Read the following update following the lower court's decision originally published by Richard Winger in Ballot Access News.

Hello America! Hello my Brothers and Sisters!

It didn’t take long for the presidential landscape to radically shift following a monumental Super Tuesday. Yet, despite the departure of the richest person to run for president in modern US history and the senior senator from Massachusetts, the true repercussions of Super Tuesday have yet to be fully realized. 

The reason? California has millions -- yes, millions -- of votes that have yet to be counted. 

With a lot of primary left to go, the Democratic presidential candidates have raised and already spent a small fortune on their White House aspirations.

So much for keeping money out of politics, right?

As long as the there's politics in money, there will be money in politics. But there are a few good non-partisan political innovations that could improve the way money flows into political campaigns to make the system more transparent and fair to candidates and voters.

Originally published on The Fulcrum.

While the Democratic contest was quickly condensing into a two-man race, 18 minimally known presidential aspirants were convening for a sprawling discussion on Wednesday.

Written by Joe Pickering of Mainers for Open Elections, originally published in the Bangor Daily News.

“Go Vote,” the March 4 BDN editorial urges. “There is no better way to reinvigorate the democratic spirit in you.” How so? Why should a plurality of voters in Maine and America have to register as a party member in order to vote in the primaries in first place?