Expensive NJ Primaries Result in Low Participation and Competition

New Jersey is holding two elections this year: the general elections for the state Legislature and the governorship and a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat left open by the loss of Senator Frank Lautenberg. With the end results already predictable, more attention should be given to the three flaws of the current system: low participation, little competition, and high costs.

Giving the Devil the Benefit of Law: A Progressive Case against Federal Civil Rights Charges

  Thomas More: What would you do? Gut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?Roper: I’d cut down every law in England to do that!Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you—where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast . . . and if you cut them down. . . d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?

Independent Ohio Pushes Nonpartisan Top-Two Primary

In off-election years, years where there are no major elections for national office, voters tend to hear much less about the electoral system in their state. For all the fervor surrounding heated races, most voters welcome the brief reprieve from the 24-news cycle and advertising bombardments that accompany election cycles.

Ohio is proving to be the exception this year.