Brendan Fischer's News Articles

Rig the Vote: Wisconsin Has Best Election Practices in the U.S., So Why Are They Under Attack?

Wisconsin is one of the highest-performing states in the country when it comes to election administration, but some state Republicans are falling behind a partisan national effort to attack the state's voting procedures and narrow access to the ballot box. "Rig the Vote," a new report from the Center for Media and Democracy and Citizen Action of Wisconsin, examines how proposed changes to Wisconsin's voting practices threaten the state's free and fair elections and are part of a cynical national effort to manipulate the electoral system for partisan gain.

Sprucing Up Suppression: Pennsylvania GOP Proposes New Election-Rigging Scheme

Some GOP leaders have backed-off plans to allocate electoral votes according to gerrymandered Congressional districts, but Pennsylvania Republicans have hatched a new scheme to give a boost to the GOP's presidential chances.

Wisconsin's "Shameful" Gerrymander of 2012

The GOP's partisan redistricting process has come under renewed scrutiny in recent months, with gerrymandered maps helping Republicans hold Congress despite receiving fewer votes than Democrats, and state legislators discussing plans to rig the presidential election by awarding electoral votes according to those contorted boundaries. But out of all the states re-drawing Congressional boundaries along partisan lines after the 2010 elections, Wisconsin's gerrymandering may have been the most egregious.

ALEC-Inspired "Right to Work" Bill Back Again in Pennsylvania

Will the Keystone State follow Michigan and attempt to bust the state's unions with help from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its allies?

GOP Vote Rigging Stalls in Virginia and Florida but Pushes On in Wisconsin and Michigan -- Why?

Virginia's governor has come out against a partisan effort to reallocate electoral college votes by Congressional district, but the plan is far from dead in other states, with governors in Wisconsin and Michigan voicing support for similar measures. The split between Virginia and other states on this issue may not be explained entirely by cooler heads prevailing -- it might be part of a political calculation about how best to elect a Republican president in 2016.

ALEC Has Opposed "Popular Vote" Efforts Which Would Protect Against Partisan Rigging of Electoral College

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has actively lobbied against state plans to implement a national popular vote for president, urging state legislators to preserve the Electoral College -- which GOP legislators are now trying to rig to ensure the the next president is a Republican. In late 2011, ALEC officially changed its policy on the Electoral College to implicitly support allocating electoral votes by congressional district.

Five Days Before Latest College Shooting, TX Legislator Introduced ALEC/NRA Bill to Allow Guns on Campus

Just days before three people were shot in an altercation on a college campus in Texas, fourteen Texas State Senators co-sponsored a National Rifle Association-backed bill to prohibit colleges from restricting concealed handguns on campuses. The legislation closely resembles a "model" adopted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Another Walker Aide Sentenced to Prison in Secret "John Doe" Investigation

  • Topics: Ethics, Politics
  • Another top official to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker during his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling funds intended for families of veterans. The sentencing appears to close a chapter in the ongoing "John Doe" investigation into corruption and misconduct in the Walker County Executive's office, but the book remains open.

    In the Fight for Secrecy, Are the Koch Brothers Like Rosa Parks?

    Civil rights organizations like the NAACP and groups dedicated to overturning the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision have found common ground in recent months, coming together under the "Money Out, Voters In" banner to fight the dual threats of money in politics and voter suppression. But on the other end of the political spectrum, right-wing activists like Karl Rove are drawing parallels between heroic African-American civil rights activists in 1950s Alabama and privileged 1%ers like the Koch brothers, arguing that a 1958 Supreme Court ruling protecting the NAACP's membership list should allow the super-rich to write million dollar checks without the public ever knowing.

    The "Swiss Bank Accounts" of the 2012 Elections: How Secret Donors Are Corrupting Democracy

    The corrosive influence of money in politics was amplified in 2012 by the fact that in many cases we don't know which individuals or which corporations actually provided much of the funding to affect election results. "Dark money" -- election spending where we don't know the source of the funds -- played a bigger role in 2012 than in any other presidential election since Richard Nixon's.

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