It’s been a bad year for advocates of ranked-choice voting reforms.
State Battles Over Ranked Choice Voting Reveal Shifting Fault Lines
By Juliana Broad | at
Featured Investigations
Top Leonard Leo Lieutenant Leads ALEC Bootcamp Against “Woke” Capitalism
By David Armiak | at
On December 5, right-wing culture warriors instructed lawmakers attending the American Legislative Exchange Council’s States and Nation Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., on the steps their states can take to upend policies and practices designed to help address the unfolding climate emergency and diversify workforces.
ALEC Maps Out Right-Wing Legislative Agenda for 2025 in DC
By David Armiak | at
ALEC state politicians, corporate lobbyists, and right-wing operatives are gathering at the four-star Grand Hyatt Washington to discuss and vote on model policies and resolutions to further climate delayism and preserve the use of fossil fuels, alter state election codes, protect purveyors of misinformation, privatize education, and push their extremist agenda in other ways.
Billionaire Megadonors Push State Courts Rightward
By Juliana Broad | at
Elon Musk, Richard Uihlein, and Jeff Yass are among the billionaire Republican megadonors who aimed extensive resources at this year’s state court races.
When Voters Vote, Vouchers Lose
By David Armiak | at
On Election Day, voters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska rejected efforts by right-wing school privateers to support and expand school vouchers in their states.
DonorsTrust Injected More Than $150 Million in Untraceable Cash Into Right-Wing Groups in 2023
By David Armiak | at
DonorsTrust — the donor conduit favored by the Koch political network — funneled over $152.5 million to MAGA groups, right-wing national and state think tanks and litigation centers, hate groups, youth groups, and more in 2023, according to an analysis of its latest IRS filing obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy.
The Invisible Hand: How Dark Money Is Inventing Prestige for Right-Wing Academics
By Walker Bragman and Bob Morris | at
In October, the American Academy of Sciences and Letters honored health economist Jay Bhattacharya with an award for intellectual freedom. The professor has been a go-to expert for Republican politicians and right-wing groups working to politicize public health and government efforts to control COVID.
Dispatches From the COP29 Climate Talks in Baku
By Alex Carlin | at
Here at COP29, I had a conversation with Zerin Osho, director of the India Program at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development based in Washington, D.C., about the critical need to address methane and other types of emissions that trap even more heat than carbon dioxide does.
Koch Super PAC Shatters Its Election Spending Record
By David Moore | at
The Americans for Prosperity Action super PAC, bankrolled by billionaire Charles Koch, has spent more than $157 million to influence voters in federal elections in 2024.
Here Are 15 Swing State Counties Where Deniers May Refuse to Certify Election Results
By Juliana Broad | at
Since Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, election deniers have come to outnumber other election administrators in 15 counties in key swing states, leading voting rights advocates to warn that their efforts to delay vote counts could create uncertainty and allow for the spread of disinformation.