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Al Vanderklipp

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social
109 followers 196 following 38 posts

Researcher, Democracy + Elections @sightline.org; diner regular on my own time 🥞☕ (Personal account! Views are my own.)

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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Kevin R. Kosar @kevinrkosar.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A new report by Scott Warren and me: www.understandingcongress.org/congress-is-... We're having a program about this subject on Wednesday. Come or tune in! www.aei.org/events/congr...
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
There are four overlapping scandals here: 1. Fundraising spam tactics are hallmarks of elder financial exploitation 2. The Dem establishment is in on it 3. Most of what is raised goes to fundraising consultants 4. Capitulation to legal threats by NYT and The Bulwark on a fully vetted story 🧵👇
data4democracy.substack.com
Hook and Squeeze
How Democratic consultants, committees, and party leaders built a fundraising spam pipeline that funnels money from a captive pool of elderly donors into their own operations.
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Al Vanderklipp @alvanderklipp.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Re-reading an old article for a project I'm working on... I fear I may never top this section header but I'll keep doing my best
Text reading "Local councils: Caught between a bloc and a ward place"
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 03/08/2026
After Alaska and Portland, OR upgraded their elections to ranked choice voting, campaigners had to pivot—but some strategies stayed the same. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social shares notes for Multnomah County (OR), Seattle, and other places soon to switch.
sightline.org
How to Run a Campaign Under Ranked Choice Voting, According to Those Who Have Done It | Sightline Institute
Campaign staffers and political organizers recount how they shifted strategies after voters in Alaska and Portland, Oregon, chose the reform.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
The Supreme Court cannot be trusted on LGBT rights. My evergreen call is to LITIGATE TRANS RIGHTS IN THE STATES! Many state constitutions contain more robust protections of equality and explicit rights to privacy. moritzlaw.osu.edu/sites/defaul...
Litigating Trans Rights in the States
QUINN YEARGAIN*

Trans rights are under attack. Across the country, states are banning trans children and adults from gender-affirming care, forcing them into bathrooms and gender-segregated school activities that don’t align with their actual gender, and forcing them to be deadnamed and misgendered in a variety of contexts. While the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on whether the Equal Protection Clause prohibits at least some discrimination on the basis of gender identity, trans advocates have been heartened by the Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County and early wins in federal court that have struck many of these restrictions down.

But the failure to challenge these laws with state constitutional claims is a short-sighted strategy. While there are reasonable signs for optimism, whether the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately uphold or strike down these laws remains to be seen. And even if the Court affirms that at least some discrimination on the basis of gender identity is unconstitutional at least some of the time, not all discriminatory laws will be held unconstitutional. Accordingly, regardless of whether the ultimate outcome of federal litigation is success, failure, or something in between, advocates will need another venue to pursue their claims.

Not only are state courts available, but many state constitutions provide litigants with unequivocally stronger claims. While the U.S. Constitution does not contain an Equal Rights Amendment, many states do—and review gender-based discrimination under strict scrutiny. While the scope of privacy rights under the U.S. Constitution is ambiguous after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, many state constitutions contain robust privacy protections that have long been more expansive than the federal right to privacy. Most state constitutions also contain many, many more rights than the U.S. Constitution does, providing advocates with more claims still.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
this WILL be relegated to the dust bin of history. it will take time, it will take effort, and it will not be easy. but this sort of bigotry will age like fucking milk, and we will look back on it with the same contempt that we do other Supreme Court opinions that gleefully entrench inequality.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Michael Andersen @andersem.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Hey, during my sabbatical I made a podcast! It’s a one-shot miniseries about what happened after the world’s most ambitious upzoning campaign won. Here’s the trailer; episodes coming weekly all through June & July. You can subscribe on Apple/Spotify/etc. rss.com/podcasts/yim...
rss.com
YIMBY Country | Podcast on RSS.com
In 2021, the nation of New Zealand announced the YIMBY rapture.In the country's five largest cities, you would be allowed to build up to eight-story buildings anywhere within a 10-minute walk of mass ...
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
What is to be done about Trump's bogus claims of election fraud in California? www.ms.now/opinion/cali...
n the long term, California should still do what it can to speed up the vote count; that would help maintain confidence in elections. With enough resources thrown at the problem and commands from the Legislature, election officials can improve their ballot processing time. But serious progress is unlikely before November.

For this year, election officials, the media and even the public all play roles in assuring voters about the fairness and integrity of the process. California election officials have been quite transparent about their processes all along the way, and that should continue. Media outlets should stop reporting which candidate is “in the lead.” This is not an ongoing election; the election is over, and the results are simply “too early to call.”

In response to charges of “voter fraud,” ordinary people can share media, such as the two-minute exchange between Trump and Welker, which show the emptiness of the president’s claims.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Brought to you by DOGE
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 02/06/2026
A similar situation in Alaska yesterday: Sen. Robert Myers filed a letter of intent to run for another term, but never made it official. Rep. Frank Tomaszewski filed to run for Senate District Q shortly before Myers announced his retirement and endorsed Tomaszewski in a prepared statement.
adn.com
Candidate slate finalized for Alaska’s statewide elections
Former Gov. Bill Walker was among the last-minute entrants to a crowded race to succeed Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 01/06/2026
Tomorrow's primary election in Montana was shaped by a backroom deal. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social
sightline.org
How to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline Institute
Sen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.
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Al Vanderklipp @alvanderklipp.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Big & little highlights from my travel to OR + AK this month 😊 (As a born midwesterner I don't think the novelty of encountering a lizard in the wild will ever wear off.)
Tumalo falls in Oregon from a distanceA lizard basking in the sun on a lichen and moss-covered rockThe powerfull Thunderbird Falls, north of AnchorageA miniature pine cone in a small pool of water surrounded by ice
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Al Vanderklipp @alvanderklipp.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Whether Rep. García in Illinois or Sen. Daines in Montana, last-minute "drop-and-swap" manuevers deny voters a chance to pick from a competitive candidate field. I wrote about how Missouri makes such ploys impossible for @sightline.org: www.sightline.org/2026/05/26/h...
sightline.org
How to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline Institute
Sen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 26/05/2026
Here's how it went down: Kurt Alme put his name in the running for Senate 8 mins before the deadline. Moments later, sitting Sen. Steve Daines dropped out, and fired off an Alme endorsement alongside Trump. A simple law could prevent future backroom deals. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social
sightline.org
How to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline Institute
Sen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 18/05/2026
Our housing team is hiring another part time contributor—this one in British Columbia! Help us advance our housing policy work in the province: www.sightline.org/british-colu...
sightline.org
British Columbia Housing + Cities Contributor | Sightline Institute
British Columbia Housing + Cities Contributor
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Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 07/05/2026
#RankedChoiceVoting allows voters to express nuanced political opinions and back their favorite candidate without spoiling an election for their number two. From @alvanderklipp.bsky.social & @jayleetx.com: Cross-partisan support on Alaska ballots is a feature, not a fluke.
sightline.org
From Peltola to Begich, Ranked Choice Voting Delivered What Alaskans Wanted | Sightline Institute
Cross-party appeal elevated Alaska’s former and current US representatives.
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Al Vanderklipp @alvanderklipp.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Ranked choice voting elevates candidates who speak to the broadest swath of voters. In the 2022 contests for AK's US House seat, that was Mary Peltola. In 2024, it was Nick Begich. It really is that simple. New analysis of ballot data from myself and @jayleetx.com for @sightline.org below. ⬇️
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
FairVote @fairvote.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Since adopting ranked choice voting & other reforms in 2020, Alaska has seen several positive changes: 🗳️Elections are more competitive 🤝Lawmakers are working together 🔢Voters understand & use RCV when it counts Learn more from @sightline.org ⬇️
sightline.org
Five Ways Election Reform Has Revamped Alaska Politics
Open primaries and ranked choice voting are no longer new but are still delivering for voters and leaders alike.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
FairVote @fairvote.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Ranked choice voting rewards elected officials who work across the aisle to get things done for all voters. At @representwomen.bsky.social's #DemocracySolutionsSummit, Juli Lucky of Alaskans for Better Elections shared how the reform pushed Alaska lawmakers to overcome gridlock and fund education.
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Al Vanderklipp @alvanderklipp.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Quick "what we know" recap on unified primaries + RCV in Alaska! Expect to publish a few more articles on the subject in the coming months.
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
My new one @slate.com on Trump's new mail balloting executive order: Sometimes it's the chaos, not the cruelty, that's the point. slate.com/news-and-pol...
The point, though, isn’t to win in court. Trump is engaging in election denialism theater. It makes voters of all sides mistrust the election process and the virtues of democracy. It convinces his supporters that Democrats have to cheat to win, something that will come in handy should Democrats take back control of the House in November with the intent of beginning investigations and potentially impeachment. It lets Trump, the most powerful person on earth, paint himself as a victim of fraud and of “bad, bad” judges. It also puts into question the rules of an election that is just months away, giving voters reason to fear that the postal service could sabotage their ballots. (The recent Supreme Court ruling saying that postal service employees cannot be held liable for intentionally failing to deliver mail surely doesn’t help that perception.) Trump’s executive order, seems aimed to sow chaos in elections and depress turnout.

We will look back at Donald Trump’s presidency as years where the concept of election integrity got turned on its head. In the name of protecting democracy, Trump is breaking democracy. The damage could last a generation, even if the shelf life of his new executive order might be measured in days.
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Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
The United States Freedom House ratings over time, compared to other countries.
chart showing US scores in perspective
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Reposted by Al Vanderklipp
Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 06/03/2026
It’s not an #AMA, it’s an #AAA: Ask Al Anything! Our new-to-bsky researcher @alvanderklipp.bsky.social is on deck until 3PT today to answer any Qs you might have on proportional representation. No such thing as a dumb question. DM and we’ll pass it along anonymously.
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Al Vanderklipp @alvanderklipp.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Good morning Bluesky! I’m @sightline.org researcher Al Vanderklipp, and I’ll be fielding your questions about proportional representation today. Reply to this thread and I’ll do my best to answer anything you want to know. ☺️ #AMA
Sightline researcher Al Vanderklipp holds up a handwritten sign prompting bluesky users to “ask him anything.”
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Al Vanderklipp @alvanderklipp.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Proud of this one! We developed an explainer not to describe the mechanics of PR, but to help folks bridge a common gap in understanding between “what is” and “what could be.”
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