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Campaign banner ad from former Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters, stating that he "won't ask for your pronouns in the U.S. Senate."

The Modern Electoral History of Transphobia

How transphobia has been a consistent liability for Republicans, and why the right refuses to give it up.
by Ettingermentum via Ettingermentum Newsletter on March 18, 2023
Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, left, and former Chicago Public Schools chief executive, Paul Vallas. (Erin Hooley/AP; Nam Y. Huh/AP)
partner

Chicago’s Mayoral Election Feels Like 1983 All Over Again — But It Isn’t

Decades of failed promises have left voters apathetic or pessimistic.
by Gordon Mantler via Made By History on March 8, 2023
Side-by-side of Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock
partner

The Racist Origins of Georgia’s Runoff Elections

Sen. Raphael Warnock and challenger Herschel Walker, both Black, square off in a contest designed to empower White voters.
by Steven F. Lawson via Made By History on December 5, 2022
Painting of the Constitutional Convention in black and white.

Fraudulent Document Cited in Supreme Court Bid to Torch Election Law

Supporters of the “independent state legislature theory” are quoting fake history.
by Brian Palmer, Ethan Herenstein via Politico Magazine on September 15, 2022
African American and white participants in the 1963 march on Washington, holding signs demanding voting rights, jobs, and an end to police brutality.

How Protest Moves From the Streets Into the Statehouse

In The Loud Minority, Daniel Gillion examines the relationship between electoral politics and protest movements.
by Erin Pineda via The Nation on November 13, 2021
A collage of newspapers declaring various elections to be "the most important election in our lives."

The Most Important Political Platitude of Our Lifetime (and Many Others)

How a simple message came to be used nearly word-for-word in elections large and small for more than 200 years.
by Jason Feifer via Slate on November 2, 2020

You Probably Don't Know This About U.S. Elections

From voting rights to the electoral college, a brief explainer on three widespread misconceptions about voting.
by Alex Keyssar via Harvard Kennedy School on October 30, 2018
partner

Electing the House of Representatives

A series of interactive maps showing the results of nearly two centuries of congressional elections.
by Robert K. Nelson, LaDale Winling via American Panorama on October 15, 2018
Photo of Grover Cleveland and then a photo of Donald Trump next to each other.
partner

Will Grover Cleveland's Second Term Foreshadow Trump's Future?

The only president before Trump to win, lose, and win again ended up decimating his own party during his second term.
by Luke Voyles via Made By History on November 21, 2024
Wilmington after the massacre.
partner

The Troubling Consequence of State Takeovers of Local Government

State efforts to usurp local government power over schools, elections, and police tend to diminish Black political power.
by Domingo Morel via Made By History on October 25, 2024
The Puerto Rican flag outside the Governor's residence in San Juan.
partner

The Catch-22 of Puerto Rico's Status Referendum

When Puerto Ricans go to the polls, they can express their choice for several status options for the island.
by Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus via Made By History on October 11, 2024
Drawing of Stella Stimson at a polling place with a notebook.

When a Trailblazing Suffragist and a Crusading Prosecutor Teamed Up to Expose an Election Conspiracy

In 1916, an unlikely duo exposed political corruption in Indiana, setting a new precedent for fair voting across the country.
by Sasha Issenberg via Smithsonian on September 5, 2024
A drawing of two people speaking with a third person's head listening between them.

Diverging Majority

Demography has not managed to be destiny in the past half-century—but predictions of a millenarian shift have not lost their appeal.
by Rick Perlstein, Geraldo Cadava via The Baffler on September 3, 2024
Eugene V. Debs delivers an antiwar speech in Canton, Ohio, June 16, 1918.

The Unsung History of Heartland Socialism

The spirit of socialism has coursed through the American Midwest ever since the movement emerged, continuing to animate the political landscape today.
by Miles Kampf-Lassin via In These Times on August 30, 2024
Bruce Springsteen on July 19, 1988 at his concert in East Berlin on the cycle track Weissensee.

Can the 1980s Explain 2024?

The yuppies embodied the winning side of America’s deepening economic divide. Bruce Springsteen spoke for those left behind.
by Nicholas Lemann via Washington Monthly on August 25, 2024
John Roberts, Lewis F. Powell Jr., and a statue of Lady Justice between them.

There’s a New Lewis Powell Memo, and It’s Wildly Racist

One young conservative lawyer would lead a determined fight to maintain Lewis Powell’s blindfolded race neutrality.
by David Daley via Slate on August 6, 2024
Biden's hand waving goodbye as he gets into a car.

The Democrats’ Crisis Isn’t Over

Biden’s withdrawal won’t solve all of Democrats’ problems — but it gives them a chance.
by Michael Kazin via Politico Magazine on July 23, 2024
Donald Trump in Alabama.
partner

To Understand Trump's Appeal, Look to Alabama History

The transformation of Alabama politics in the 1960s and 1970s reflected the rise of a new version of Republicanism that Trump has perfected.
by Ashley Steenson via Made By History on January 25, 2024
A collage in which a photograph of Blanche Ames Ames is superimposed on a photograph of John F. Kennedy.

How John F. Kennedy Fell for the Lost Cause

And the grandmother who wouldn’t let him get away with it.
by Jordan Virtue via The Atlantic on November 13, 2023
Photo of a young Donald Trump greeting Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2000

Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura’s Shocking Election 25 Years Ago Previewed Trump’s

The former pro wrestler says his surprise election as Minnesota governor paved the way for Donald Trump. Now he looks back “shamefully” on their past ties.
by Frederic J. Frommer via Retropolis on November 3, 2023
Member of Hamas holding a flag and an automatic rifle.

How George W. Bush Helped Hamas Come to Power

In Bush’s naïveté about the magic of elections, he ignored a crucial point about democracy.
by Fred Kaplan via Slate on October 24, 2023
The American flag on fire.

The Fight for Our America

There have always been two Americas. One based in religious zeal, mythology, and inequality; and one grounded in rule of the people and the pursuit of equality.
by Heather Cox Richardson via The New Republic on September 26, 2023
A ballot from Ireland’s 2020 general election.

Avoiding the PR Mistakes of the Past

The proportional representation (PR) vs. single transferable vote (STV) battle in local elections.
by Jack Santucci via Democracy Journal on September 12, 2023
Edgar Allen Poe.

Did Voter Fraud Kill Edgar Allan Poe?

The death of mystery writer Edgar Allan Poe is its own mystery. But new research suggests election fraud may have contributed to his demise in Baltimore.
by Randy Dotinga via Retropolis on March 26, 2023

Republicans Have Won the Senate Half the Time Since 2000 Despite Winning Fewer Votes than Democrats

How the Senate has become a bastion of Republican minority rule.
by Stephen Wolf via Daily Kos on February 15, 2023
Kevin McCarthy
partner

What 1856 Teaches Us About the Ramifications of the House Speaker Fight

The battle is worth winning for Kevin McCarthy — and could reshape the Republican Party.
by Corey M. Brooks via Made By History on January 5, 2023
Drawing of Al Gore at the 2000 Democratic Convention.

Has the United States Ever Been a Democracy?

Jedediah Purdy's new book examines why the U.S. has continuously failed to qualify as a system defined by popular rule.
by Sophia Rosenfeld via The Nation on January 3, 2023
Supporters cheer during an election night watch party for Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) in Atlanta
partner

Warnock’s Win Points to the Need For Ongoing Political Organizing

Georgia’s own history highlights what out-organizing voter suppression really entails.
by Dan Berger via Made By History on December 7, 2022
African Americans campaigning for Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker, and Confederate symbols in Georgia.

Minority Rule(s)

Georgia’s competitive runoff election is the result of centuries of white supremacist efforts.
by Anthony Conwright via The Forum on December 6, 2022
Hand tossing a coin.

Why Is America Always Divided 50–50?

Despite wrenching economic and political changes in the country, Democrats and Republicans keep finding themselves nearly tied in election after election.
by Annie Lowrey via The Atlantic on November 8, 2022
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