Media

It’s not often that a local secretary of state candidate can garner national headlines the way Nina Turner did during her campaign in Ohio. Turner, an experienced legislator, had been a strong voice for protecting access to the polls in one of the nation’s most influential states. She had the backing of unions and other groups on the grassroots level. She was even a popular guest on cable news shows. Turner seemed poised to trounce her opponent. What he had, however, that she didn’t was money. Lots and lots of it.

Yesterday, Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice released their analysis of campaign spending in the 2014 state judicial elections, providing a detailed look at spending on TV ads. They found almost $14 million was spent on such elections, far surpassing several state records. And about $5 million was spent by outside groups on TV ads targeting state Supreme Court races.

Political scientist Michael P. McDonald recently released  preliminary turnout rates at the state (and national) level. These data are preliminary and will be continuously updated, but still yield some insights.

Firstly, we can look at the impact of felon disenfrachisement.

No matter who wins each of the hundreds of elections today, one thing's for sure: a relative handful of large donors and spenders are setting the agenda and terms of debate, while the rest of us are on the sidelines.

Early voting and Election Day Registration may have boosted turnout 

In my recent Explainer, I discussed the implications of the voting gap on policy and elections. Numerous studies show that in states where low-income voters turnout at a higher rate, inequality is lower. That is because in these chambers, policymakers tend to be more liberal and favorable to policies to decrease economic inequality.

Election Day is a crucial time to reflect on the fact that our elected officials, and candidates running for office, don’t look like America.

The biggest campaign donors and spenders have long played an outsized role in most U.S. elections—for legislators, governors, right on up to the president. But, this year there’s an extra twist, showing that judicial elections are no longer an exception.

City council races seldom get the attention of their up-ballot brethren, especially on a day like today when the fate of the U.S. Senate is up for grabs. But local elected officials probably hold greater sway over decisions that directly affect your life. And their ranks tell us something important about who holds power in any community — and, equally important, who doesn't. [...]