Politics
Polarized politics has changed the dynamics of legislation and policymaking at the state and local level. Political parties with supermajorities are increasingly in control in many states and cities. These stories explain what that means for legislators, governors and mayors and how politicians can navigate this new political landscape.
Voters in a former Democratic stronghold in Minnesota complain that both the national party and Minnesota Democrats have swung too far to the left on spending and cultural issues.
A proposed bill claims to provide disaster relief to those suffering the impacts of Hurricane Helene but in actuality focuses on obstructing power from the newly elected Democratic governor, attorney general and state schools superintendent.
Rising minorities in big cities are increasingly concerned about order and security. Political parties need to pay attention.
Participation for Washingtonians 18-24 dropped 8.5 points from the 2020 election, but improved compared to 2016.
A new Brookings analysis of counties' 2024 presidential vote shows that lower-output, small town, and rural areas still comprise the foundation of the GOP base. But they've been joined by numerous new Republican-leaning places in the Sun Belt and elsewhere.
Voters in five states rejected the voting system, while D.C. voters approved it.
The political landscape has shifted dramatically in Vermont. Nationally, the election showed that partisanship matters most but active campaigning still makes a difference.
Other states, including Nevada, are deleting references to slavery in their constitutions and banning forced prison labor. California voters rejected that path when they turned down Prop. 6.
The meat industry’s multimillion-dollar lobbying fight succeeded in stopping the city’s slaughterhouse ban, which will result in the continued operation of one of the nation’s largest lamb processing facilities.
It will be the leadership of our states and cities that will have the most direct impact on the issues that animated the presidential campaign.
State constitutional amendments that voters approved in seven states on Nov. 5 also are vulnerable to federal moves that could essentially override them.
Having won a big victory, Donald Trump can claim a mandate. But recent history shows that voters punish politicians who change things too much.
Less than 36 hours after Trump’s resounding victory, the California governor called to bolster the state’s legal resources with the aim of protecting reproductive health care, climate policies and immigrant communities in California.
Moderates have been largely squeezed out of political relevance. There is room for a new party, and it would have to start at the state level. It could bring pragmatic solutions to critical problems the major parties avoid.
Voting and election administration became contentious topics after 2020. This time, years of preparation, efforts to improve transparency and collaboration with law enforcement helped things run smoothly.
Local officials are sorting out the impacts from the approval of 16 propositions. Voters rejected salary increases for councilmembers, tightened term limits and streamlined pathways to sue officials.
A half-dozen states rejected ranked-choice voting, although Washington, D.C., approved a measure. School choice fared poorly, while increasing criminal penalties proved to be popular.
Oakland voters recalled the mayor and county prosecutor, while Los Angeles voters fired their progressive district attorney. Across the country, several major cities elected new mayors.
Republicans took control of the Michigan House and will share power in the Minnesota House, blocking the home-state agenda of Gov. Tim Walz.
Abortion rights advocates suffered their first post-Dobbs defeats, in Florida and South Dakota, but prevailed in other states.
Republicans have kept their 27-23 advantage, winning the year's most competitive race in New Hampshire.
At least eight states will elect new governors on Tuesday. The outcome is a foregone conclusion in five, so here are profiles of those incoming freshmen.
Arizona is the only state to require all jurisdictions to livestream ballot processing, but there are other places to watch.
After years under progressive measures aimed to reduce incarceration, California, Arizona and Colorado voters will all decide measures aimed at cracking down on crime.
Chaz Nuttycombe started making election predictions as a kid. He's turned the pursuit into a business that pros rely on.
Despite the fact that more than 76 million Americans had already voted in this year’s election as of Sunday, a patchwork of vote-counting rules, particularly in battleground states, will likely delay Election Night results.
Public service videos featuring election officials and voices from law enforcement and the military stress the importance of secure elections — and that interference will be punished.
After the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Congress enacted the Electoral Count Reform Act, which mandates that states choose their electors on Election Day. This is the first election with the new law.
Vote NO on Prop One, a shadow group registered as a ballot issue committee against New York state’s Proposition 1, has spent nearly $5 million on misinformation ads for radio, television and streaming services.
Amid an especially tense and unprecedented cycle, Pittsburgh schools are using the election as a way to energize students about civics education.
Once considered a conservative stronghold, new boundaries extending into King and Snohomish counties are altering the political landscape.
