Author: Dan Eckam

The Battle of Grant Park, July 17, 2020

Protesters attack police at Grant Park, Chicago

Three years ago today, something significant happened — historically significant, it seems to me. Yet perhaps the most remarkable thing about it is how little it’s been written about. Will history recognize the Battle of Grant Park? First of all:…

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The Import of Condorcet

Marquis de Condorcet with voters' preferences in the 2022 special election

The August 16, 2022 special election for Alaska’s one and only seat in the U.S. House was notable for several reasons, including being the first time ranked-choice voting (RCV) was used to fill the seat. Students of voting methods have…

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The Filibuster is a Lousy Way to Accomplish a Reasonable Goal

Senator Kyrsten Sinema

Yesterday, Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) caused a lot of heads to spin when she announced that she would not support altering the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation. One prominent columnist tweeted that she was “effectively asking the…

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The DACA Decision Through a Party-System Lens

Supreme Court of the United States

Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision on DACA is only a temporary reprieve for undocumented DREAMers; there’s little to prevent the Trump administration from trying again with a modified process. Meanwhile, the DACA program is popular with both Democrats and Republicans. In…

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Debating “Two Cheers for Two Parties”

I recently watched Intelligence Squared’s debate on the two-party system, and I was shocked by the outcome. Before the debate, 35 percent of the audience agreed with the motion, which was “Two Cheers for Two Parties” (by the way, not…

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My new book! “Beyond Two Parties”

I have recently published a book I’ve been working for more than five years. It’s entitled “Beyond Two Parties: Why America Needs a Multiparty System and How We Can Have It” and is available at Amazon and other online retailers…

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What’s the Best Way to Deal With Gerrymandering?

Many people feel disappointed by the Rucho v. Common Cause decision, handed down last week by the Supreme Court. I don’t blame them. The Supreme Court recognized that partisan gerrymandering is, in their own words, “incompatible with democratic principles”, yet…

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Vegetarian Chili Recipe: ‘Fuego Alert’

Chili ingredients

I’ve been cooking vegetarian chili since the late 1990s. In those days, Don Barnes’s QuintesSensual Chili made a big impression on me, and I used it as a starting point. With this chili I have simplified things, eliminating the fake…

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New Zealand’s Party System History

To take a diagrammatic look at New Zealand’s history of political parties is interesting not only from a historical perspective, but also in order to study the effect of electoral systems on party systems. In 1994, the country voted to change…

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