Lee Drutman

MAGA’s State-by-State Plot to Butcher Democracy Political insiders, GOP legislators and governors, the president, even the Supreme Court—they’re all in on the flagrantly unconstitutional conspiracy to destroy democracy by the way they draw lines on...

"The best way to end gerrymandering—and the extremism and polarization that runs hand in hand—would be for the nation to adopt a more proportional House of Representatives." - @davedaley.bsky.social
Important read -> newrepublic.com/article/2028...

If you care about how our government functions (or not), please read about proportional representation (see below). This is the big electoral reform we need, and we need to start demanding it because our current political leadership will not make it happen.

This is where I plug the fact that @centerforballotfreedom.org is pursuing serious efforts to expand fusion voting as a legal option in more states, and unions are a prime example of an interest that could use it to good effect.

How to Win Red States With a Labor Party We can take political power without asking Democrats for it.

what this makes me think is that unions should push for fusion voting wherever possible www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/how-to-win...

The next era could come sooner than you think This Thanksgiving, let's be thankful for the possibility of renewal

All the social media gurus tell me that if you want things to go viral, you need to go negative.
But here's some optimism -- I think we're far closer to a moment of major democracy reform than many think.
Here's why: leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-next-e...
let's prove the negativity mongers wrong!

Chaos Reigns as Texas Awaits Supreme Court’s Ruling on Redistricting

A great way to avoid future chaos? Congress should mandate proportional representation.
No more endless legal limbo.
No more gerrymandering.
Easy peezy lemon squeezy

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...

Episode 4 of This Old Democracy: Host Micah Sifry talks with Bill Kristol about the rise of authoritarianism, the dangers of polarization, and how civic engagement and reforms like fusion voting can help renew American democracy.

🎧 Listen: centerforballotfreedom.org/this-old-dem...

Alt text: An image depicting two meals to demonstrate the differences in results under a winner-take-all approach and a proportional representation approach if either were used to build a Thanksgiving meal. A winner-take-all table results in too much of only two foods, whereas the proportional representation table offers a large variety of food options.

Our winner-take-all, two-party system isn’t working. But a solution may be closer than you think. This and more fodder for your Thanksgiving dinner table from Lee Drutman and Grant Tudor in our weekly briefing.
https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-next-era-could-come-sooner-than

"Proportional representation is the only true solution because it renders gerrymandering irrelevant."

www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/202...

The next era could come sooner than you think This Thanksgiving, we’re thankful for the possibility of renewal

Six trends that make electoral and party system reform more likely -- you won't believe #5.
www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-next-e...

The next era could come sooner than you think This Thanksgiving, we’re thankful for the possibility of renewal

A genuinely, truly, inescapably must-read Thanksgiving piece from @leedrutman.bsky.social and Grant Tudor. Read every bit of it: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-next-e...

"The absence of young people from conventional protests is both a problem and a warning." -- @brendannyhan.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o...

Three things that would improve trust in the political process across party lines:
1. More than just two parties
2. Campaign finance limits
3. Term limits
Love 1 & 2.
I've long been skeptical of term limits, but I could get behind 24-year limits, or age limits at 76.
snfagora.jhu.edu/wp-content/u...

There are moments in which I think we are trapped in a state of constant alarm, and maybe this is not the most productive state to be in.
On the other hand -- there is a lot to be alarmed about. I think.

Ranked-choice voting makes sense for party primaries because party primaries often feature fractured fields.

Reminder: Continuing to use the single-member districts that make these gerrymandering wars so deadly is a choice.

Congress has the power to elevate House elections to proportional representation, and to end this pointless and barbaric blood-letting.

How fusion voting builds the new parties that can break the two-party doom loop Some reforms just rearrange the gridlock. This one unlocks the pieces that matter.

Political systems don't reform themselves.

They reform under pressure: popular discontent, new party competition, crisis.

Americans are mad. Crisis is here.

What's missing? Minor parties with ballot lines and leverage.

It's time to start building.

leedrutman.substack.com/p/how-fusion...

Majorities of Americans want more political parties -- and less executive power!
www.frameworksinstitute.org/app/uploads/...

The next generation continues to scream to any pollster who will listen: we need transformative changes!

Who will carry this mantle in the 2028 Democratic primary? The opportunity is there.

The radical right *is* rising across much of Europe. But the narrative that young people are leading the charge is overblown.

Gen Z is turning away from mainstream parties, but often the beneficiaries are left-insurgents like England's Greens, France's LFI, or Germany's Linke.

Rather than specifically fuel disinformation or misinformation, I think social media has fueled negativity and distemper, because that's what mostly gets shared and clicked.
Does this seem right? Or am I too pessimistic?

And yet elite mainstream discourse seems to be hyperfixated on how the left flank of the Democratic Party alienates people

This is consistent with analyses I've done over the years. The closer you get to the "middle" the more you get weakly engaged voters with a menagerie of heterogeneous non-ideologies. A few principled moderates do exist, sure. But they are far fewer than common narratives suggest.

The core problem: without another label, a Democrat is just a Democrat. The national party brand drowns out everything else. Fusion voting lets alternative labels exist. It’s not about better candidates—it’s about more parties. @leedrutman.bsky.social @newamerica.org @politicalreform.newamerica.org

It's not just you. News headlines have become more negative in the 21st century -- particularly in partisan outlets
THIS IS BAD!

Riddle me this paradox: Democrats ahead in the generic ballot 55%-41%, but only 29% of people have confidence in Democrats (compared to 35% for Rs).
Something voting against the party in the White House, negative partisanship, just one poll, etc... But still...
maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/a-look...

And who says bipartisanship is dead?

There has to be a better way to do elections than endless litigation.

Oh wait, there is...get rid of the single-member districts that make constant redistricting so profitable. Use proportional representation instead!

The Trump administration’s latest attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is lawless, wasteful, and bad for students. This deeply unpopular administration lacks the votes in Congress to shut down ED. That’s why Secretary McMahon is creating a bureaucratic Rube Goldberg machine that will waste millions of taxpayer dollars by outsourcing vital programs to other agencies. It’s like paying a contractor double to mow your lawn and then claiming you’ve cut the home maintenance budget. It makes no sense. The American people overwhelmingly oppose shutting down ED. Congress won’t allow it. Nobody wants this, other than a few Heritage Foundation zealots who hate public schools. The Department of Education was created to give all students a fair chance for opportunity. Everything about the Trump-McMahon agenda moves America in the opposite direction—less money for high-poverty schools, fewer protections for students with disabilities, diminished access to college. This action is illegal, inefficient, and wrong. If Secretary McMahon doesn’t believe she can do her job, she and her senior staff should return their paychecks and immediately resign.

My statement on McMahon's plan to dismember the U.S. Department of Education.
www.newamerica.org/education-po...

I'd be very surprised if the Supreme Court does not ultimately side with Texas Republicans here, but who knows?