Saturday, December 11, 2010

Overview of State Legislative Elections from BAN

From Ballot Access News:

Tim Storey has this comprehensive summary of the results of state legislative elections, including a map that shows which major party controls each state’s legislature. Unfortunately, the article does not mention that independents or minor party members were elected to state legislatures in ten states this year.

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This article like many avoid dealing with the anti-democratic nature of the "winner take all" electoral system which limits choices for voters which is a huge part of the low voter turnout. And given that more and more people are feeling that the two parties are serving the rich at the cost of the working people of the United States, more are proposing a progressive split from the Dems.

It will be tough for any changes in power without structural changes in the electoral system. The question is how do we achieve those types of changes. We need either a major uprising of the population or truly pro-democratic, and inclusive elected officials to be a large enough group to make the changes. Until then we need to find cracks in the systems we interact with to practice real democracy that includes the excluded.

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