On Friday, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell signed a new law that will give more rural counties the option of avoiding prison-based gerrymandering, helping to ensure fairer representation for incarcerated Virginians. The law, HB13, passed both Houses unanimously. It was sponsored by Delegate Riley

NEW YORK - Yesterday, civil rights legend John Payton passed away suddenly, stunning the civil rights and voting rights community. Demos issued the following statement to honor his historic work and the legacy he leaves behind:

The law, known as Part XX, was passed in 2010 to increase fairness in redistricting by counting incarcerated people as residents of their home districts. The previous practice, often called prison-based gerrymandering, gave extra political influence to districts containing prisons, diluting the

New York, NY -- Miles Rapoport, President of Demos, and former Connecticut Secretary of the State, commended current Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill for championing Same Day Registration and other improvements in voting and elections.

The more we learn about Super PACs, the uglier the picture gets.

In 1907, Congress banned corporate contributions to federal candidates in the wake of the robber baron-era scandals. In 1947, the ban was formally applied to corporate expenditures and extended to cover labor unions.

NEW YORK - The New York Court of Appeals today declined to hear plaintiffs’ direct appeal in Little v. LATFOR, a lawsuit challenging New York’s law ending prison-based gerrymandering.

The difference is obvious, Potter replied. Because 527 groups were legally shady, they attracted far less money from fewer donors. True, the FEC didn’t enforce the law, but donors couldn’t be sure that would be the case, and some were unwilling to take the risk.

A new report from two public-interest groups confirms fears "that the cash for big-ticket campaign spending like TV advertising is increasingly controlled by an elite class of super-rich patrons not afraid to plunk down a million bucks or more for favored candidates and causes."

The U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision unleashed the specter of unlimited corporate political donations in U.S. elections. So far, however, it's mostly rich individuals doing the donating.