DIVIDED AMERICA: Minorities missing in many legislatures
By DAVID A. LIEB As Virginia’s only Latino state lawmaker, Alfonso Lopez made it his first order of business to push for a law granting in-state college tuition to immigrants…
Voting districts
Can redistricting reform close the minority gap in capitols?
By DAVID A. LIEB They have nicknames like “the dead lizard,” ”the praying mantis” and “the upside-down elephant.” The odd-shaped legislative districts that dot many states are no coincidence. The…
Court upholds total population count in electoral districts
By MARK SHERMAN A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can count everyone, not just eligible voters, in deciding how to draw electoral districts. The justices turned back a…
High court case threatens independent electoral map drawers
By MARK SHERMAN In a reversal of the usual worries about political influence on electoral map-making, the Supreme Court is being asked to let raw politics play an even bigger…
Diminished in Congress and many states, Dems weigh future
By CHARLES BABINGTON and ANDREW TAYLOR Congressional Democrats are in retreat in more ways than one this week. As Democratic senators gather in Baltimore to talk strategy and lick election…
LATINOS WANT GOV’T TO LOOK INTO LA COUNTY VOTING
By MARK SHERMAN FILE – In this May 15, 2012, file photo, retired California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso, speaks at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. The Obama administration is…
IMMIGRATION CAMPAIGN PASSES BY SOME IN GOP
By ERICA WERNER FILE – In this June 28, 2012 file photo Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., speaks at a news conference outside the US Capitol in Washington. As immigration advocates…
VOTERS TO CHOOSE JACKSON JR.’S HO– USE SUCCESSOR
By SOPHIA TAREEN FILE – In this Feb. 26, 2013 file photo, Robin Kelly celebrates her special primary election win in Matteson, Ill., for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District seat, once…