Incumbents use the perk of official e-newsletters — For over a decade now I’ve run DCinbox.com, an online archive of all the e-newsletters sent by members of Congress to their constituents in their official capacity. …

The limits of ballot reform efforts to solve deeper political realities — Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is the hottest electoral reform trend being considered by cities and states right now. If your state doesn’t have a chapter of activists dedicated to RCV already, it probably soon will. …

Federal political giving patterns of Halloween candy makers — As Halloween nears and Congress remains spooky as ever, it’s a perfect time to investigate the political donation patterns of the top US candy makers. Warning: there are things will scare people from all political persuasions — your favorite candy makers might support some of your most feared politicians! …

All that we thought it would be? — In June 2021, New York City’s party-registered voters used ranked-choice voting (RCV) in primary elections for the first time. Two years ago, NYC voters adopted RCV by an overwhelming margin after it was touted as a “faster and cheaper” alternative to the runoff system, that would eliminate the “spoiler effect”…

Which food brands donate to Democrats vs Republicans — The Fourth of July 2021 promises to be a big party throughout the nation. As towns and cities emerge from COVID-19 states of emergency, people are looking for reasons to celebrate and governments are wanting to set off the fireworks in a big way. This year, when you gather, here’s…

Politics and Parenting — As a part of an interdisciplinary series looking to restore a sense of unity in the U.S. after a fractious election period I was asked to give a set of answers to the prompt, What are 5 Steps That Each Of Us Can Take To Proactively Help Heal Our Country…

Tax Politics — In the past 7 days alone, 10 different Republicans have begun circulating talking points in their official constituent e-newsletters about the specter of the “death tax”. This term is the Republican pejorative that refers to the federal estate tax which subjects large estates that are bequeathed upon death to a…

Legislating and Public Relations — In each Congress, the bill number H.R. 1 is reserved for the majority party’s top goal. In the 117th Congress, controlled by Democrats that bill is the For the People Act of 2021 which passed the House on March 3, 2021. This is an ambitious elections reform bill, which is…

Once taboo, marijuana is increasingly a topic in official communications — Drug decriminalization and legalization are on the rise throughout the states. Though a handful of states had decriminalized small amounts of marijuana by the mid 1970s, it was 1996 when California became the first state to permit sales of medical marijuana and by 2009 only 12 others and DC too…