The Robert Mueller indictment of thirteen Russians for ‘interfering’ in the American elections of 2016 confirms the bad news: those elections were ‘influenced’–in some shape or form–by non-Americans. The extent of this ‘influence’ is unclear–whether they decisively swung the election to Donald Trump or not–but be that as it may, one fact remains established: amongContinue reading “US Elections Invite External Intervention, As They Well Might”
Tag Archives: electoral process
A Trump Win And The First-Past-The-Post System
Every election cycle, we learn all over again, the bad news about ‘swing states’ and ‘undecided voters’ and ‘independents.’ There are ‘red states’ and ‘blue states’ and then there are ‘states in play’: those electoral precincts in the nation whose demographics make their electoral outcomes uncertain. Every election cycle, the political candidates of the twoContinue reading “A Trump Win And The First-Past-The-Post System”
Bernie Sanders’ Campaign And The First-Past-The-Post System
It is a truism in electoral democracies that the electoral system–the particular methodology used to convert the individual choices of voters into a composite social choice–is a key determinant of electoral outcomes. Does the system allow you to rank all candidates by order of preference or does it ask you to only pick one candidate,Continue reading “Bernie Sanders’ Campaign And The First-Past-The-Post System”
Contra Paul Starr, Presidential Elections Are Not Just About Electing Presidents
Paul Starr kicks off the latest production from the ‘Bernie Sanders is not a real candidate, merely a symbolic one’ brigade with the following assertions: I have a strange idea about presidential primaries and elections: The purpose is to elect a president. And I have a strange thought about primary voters: They have a choice betweenContinue reading “Contra Paul Starr, Presidential Elections Are Not Just About Electing Presidents”
Samir Chopra 