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Governor Bob Ferguson
I'm proud of our dedicated fanbase for professional sports here in Washington state. The Seattle Torrent has broken attendance records in its inaugural season while leading average attendance!
Sports headlines with Joe Zone
Channel 3 Sports Director Joe Zone shares updates on Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, along with what's next for the UConn men's team.
Timeline of new entertainment district in downtown Phoenix unknown
Phoenix leaders want downtown to stay busy even when there’s no game or concert in town but roadblocks are slowing the plan.
Phoenix wants a downtown entertainment district, but delays remain
Phoenix leaders want downtown to stay busy even when there’s no game or concert in town but that vision is stuck in limbo. A long-discussed entertainment district could reshape the area around Chase Field, Footprint Center, and the convention center. But as Zach Prelutsky reports, while the city pushes for a more walkable urban core, new roadblocks are slowing the plan.
Bonham Robotics team wins state, students advance to National Science Bowl
Students at Bonham Middle School are celebrating a major moment after earning a first-ever state championship in robotics and preparing to compete on a national stage.
KPMG axes 400 US consultants as demand slows in key areas
KPMG cuts 400 consultants in the US advisory division due to slowing demand and low attrition.
Viewpoint: A career in science is possible, and worth it
Starting a career in science is exciting, but also demanding, with researchers often faced with intense competition, long working hours and high levels of stress. A pioneer in the field of mass spectrometry, Carol Robinson has been there. She speaks with Science|Business on the importance of creating a supportive environment, particularly for women.Robinson did not wake up one day thinking that she would become a scientist. It was only late in school that she developed an interest in chemistry. “The more you work at something, the more you think, actually, this is fascinating. So, I went much further and deeper than I ever needed to pass the exam. And then I loved it,” she says. “I thought, I’m going to give it my all. I’m going to enjoy it while I’m here. But I didn’t think this would be my career for 50 odd years.”She left school at 16 to become a lab technician with the drug company Pfizer, which is where she first worked with mass spectrometry. Fascinated, she was encouraged to take a part-time degree and then a PhD. She went on to do pioneering work in native mass spectrometry, a technique that is used to study protein structures in their natural state, paving the way for breakthroughs in drug discovery. She also broke new ground by becoming the first female professor of chemistry at the University of Cambridge, and then the first female professor of chemistry at the University of Oxford, her current home.She now wants to show young researchers that a career in science is worth it. “Sometimes, I believe the culture isn’t very encouraging, and that’s something I have worked on,” Robinson says.In 2021, she launched the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery at Oxford, whose acronym gives a sense of what she hopes it will achieve. “Maybe it is corny,” she says. “It’s just a reminder that I would like it if we could all be kind to each other and supportive, especially for early-career researchers of either gender, because there’s quite a big attrition rate in science, and maybe it just doesn’t feel like a very friendly place to work.”And yet, a career in science comes with a lot of flexibility. “There are few careers where you have that amount of freedom, to go to conferences, to the library. Just because you didn’t see me didn’t mean I wasn’t working,” she says. “And I’m excited to come in every day. So, I don’t want people to think it’s a terrible place.”Gender equality is also important when it comes to the quality of science as a career. “The more women we have, the better it becomes,” Robinson adds.Imposter syndromeAccording to EU data, women outnumber men in university education but account for just about a third of graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem). And while the number of women working as scientists and engineers in the 27-member bloc is on the rise, their representation remains below that of men, at 41%. This discrepancy is even more pronounced in top-tier functions across these fields, where women fill just 20% of positions.Having supervised many young scientists, Robinson sees that women continue to have a greater propensity than men to doubt their abilities, a feeling she once shared. “When I was doing my PhD at the University at Cambridge, I really felt like an imposter,” she says. “I don’t think I ever felt I deserved to be there or owned it and was proud. I just thought I was lucky.” Later on, she adds, “I was always that person who said, I can’t apply yet because my CV is not strong enough.”She has now made it her job to encourage women to break with this imposter syndrome. For example, rather than calling for volunteers to give a lecture in the groups that she mentors or teaches, which nearly always results in men stepping forward, she goes straight to the women, “because I know they won’t push themselves forward.”But the gender gap in science is not just down to imposter syndrome. The “obvious” reason, Robinson says, and the reason that is on everybody’s mind when discussing workplace gender equality, is the balance between work and raising a family. Her own path was to choose between the two, taking an eight-year break after completing a postdoctoral training fellowship to bring up three children. And she continues to advise women not to work part-time while they raise a family. “You’ll just get half the pay and continue to work full-time because you are not able to fit everything in,” she says. “You should be able to have a family and come back to have the career that you want.”The solution is for men to also take career breaks. “That kind of evens it up, so that it’s not such a big thing for women,” Robinson says. “I always encourage men in my groups to do that. I think it’s important to take your share of the duties.”Support produces resultsAccording to the Women in Stem Network, a UK advocacy group, countries with strong childcare systems and equal pay policies retain more women in technical careers. In Europe, these are primarily found in the Nordic region and parts of central Europe.At the EU level, the European Commission asks all Horizon Europe applicant organisations to have a gender action plan in place. Since this criterion was introduced in 2021, the share of women leading consortia has increased to 31%, against 23% in Horizon 2020. Their overall participation, however, has risen just 1%, to 38%. After trying to weaken the requirement for gender action plans in 2025, the Commission now intends to adopt a plan for supporting women in research and innovation.Related articlesCommission scraps plan to water down gender requirements in HorizonHow gender balance can swing who wins Horizon Europe fundingRobinson herself has benefited from three Advanced Grants from the European Research Council. “I was extremely honoured and privileged to get those, because they really allowed me to fuel my passion,” she says. “Without that, it would have been a much harder slog.”Beyond applying gender rules, she says that more work is needed on translational enterprise, where women are, once again, largely underrepresented. The European Patent Office found that only 13.8% of applications were filed by women in 2022. “We have so many more women doing amazing science; why do they feel it’s not a thing to have a company?” she asks.She founded her own spin-out company, OMass Technologies, in 2016, and remains chair of its scientific advisory board now that it trades as OMass Therapeutics. As for research, Robinson is now studying how changes in the brain may be linked to depression, using port-mortem tissue. “We’re hoping to publish soon,” she says. “We had to consult with a lot of people who knew a lot more about the brain than we did. So, we’ve learnt a lot, and that’s always a lot of fun to learn a new thing. That’s what keeps you going.”
Two CSUF Students Compete in Business Ethics Competition
Two Cal State Fullerton students were quarter finalists at the 9th Annual Lockheed Martin Ethics in Engineering Case Competition held on Feb. 23-25, a record for Titan achievement in this annual event that features teams of undergraduate students presenting on ethics in the workplace. The CSUF team, which included accounting junior Clint Cox and computer science […]
Packers News: Jayden Reed contract extension details drop
Green Bay receiver Jayden Reed received $20 million in full guarantees on his $50.25 million deal
Can NASA and SpaceX really build a moon base in the next 10 years?
Experts say building a lunar colony within the next decade, as NASA and Elon Musk want to, will require finding solutions to problems we don't yet fully understand.
Chatsworth High's Grant Wang hits the MIT jackpot
The 6-foot-6 senior volleyball star was first put on MIT's deferred list but learned during a tournament in Las Vegas that he has been accepted.
Contributor: Politics has come to work, once an apolitical space
Now you don't have to 'talk politics' to highlight a political divide in the workplace. The colors people wear and the cars they drive can be enough to telegraph allegiances.
Empty seats 'a symptom of staggering success'
The sight of empty seats in the Manchester City end at Wembley for Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Southampton has inevitably triggered the usual cycle of lazy jibes from rival fans. Under Pep Guardiola, a trip to England's showpiece venue has shifted from a once-in-a-generation opportunity to a routine commitment. Since 2011, City have visited the national stadium 33 times, and the weekend's clash against the Saints was Guardiola's 25th Wembley appearance alone, including the Premier League meetings with Tottenham in 2018.
KPMG exits US federal audit business after losing Pentagon contract, FT reports
Big Four firm KPMG is shutting its federal government audit business and will redeploy more than 450 U.S. staff after losing a $60 million-a-year contract with the Pentagon, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Chelsea Kardos Promoted To Vice President Of Television At Alloy Entertainment
EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea Kardos has been promoted to vice president of Alloy Entertainment’s television division. In her new role, she will report to Alloy’s president and chief creative officer, Leslie Mor...
Colin Jost reveals Scarlett Johansson's reaction to his buying Staten Island Ferry with Pete Davidson
Colin Jost is humorously opening up about the shocked reaction his wife, Scarlett Johansson, had to his impulsively purchasing the Staten Island Ferry with 'SNL' pal Pete Davidson in 2023.
Researchers Discover Critical GitHub CVE-2026-3854 RCE Flaw Exploitable via Single Git Push
CVE-2026-3854 (CVSS 8.7) enabled GitHub RCE via git push, risking cross-tenant access to millions of repositories.
Entertainment: Summer concert line-up announced
Waimea Valley has announced the line-up for the Summer Concert Series which begins June 27th.
Microsoft Patches Entra ID Role Flaw That Enabled Service Principal Takeover
Agent ID Administrator enabled service principal takeover before April 9, 2026 patch, exposing privilege escalation risk in Entra ID tenants.
Phoenix business owner calls for change after fiery crash at ‘Melrose Curve’
Another violent crash at the Melrose Curve has a Phoenix business owner demanding action.
NFL 2026 offseason key remaining dates: Full team-by-team OTAs and minicamp schedule, plus more to watch for
Charleston Sternwheel Regatta entertainment lineup announced
Studio 3
Great Entertainment
Broadway on Main's production of "School of Rock: The Musical" runs through May 10th, with producer Billy DiCrosta and actor Tyler Gay sharing details.
Gray Media, RAJ Sports launch Rose City SportsNet
Rose City Sportsnet is the official broadcast home of the Portland Fire and Portland Thorns — delivering live games, original programming, and the stories shaping the future of the game.
Hasbro unveils new figurines for Spider-Man: Brand New Day — and MCU fans think they spoil a big 'badass' event in Tom Holland's next Marvel movie
'Oh s**t, are we actually getting that one scene?'
Office purpose and workplace strategy in Chicago
New research reveals why most workplace strategies fail and how leading organizations are aligning office purpose with business outcomes, employee engagement and long-term growth.
China Will Require Meta to Unwind Acquisition of AI Start-Up Manus
The impact of the ruling was not immediately clear, but it could send a chilling signal to Chinese tech founders seeking to team up with foreign companies.
Celsius unites sports, music and culture ahead of soccer-centric summer
Soccer stars, DJ Diplo and creator Marlon Garcia feature in a new ad that reimagines the brand’s “Live. Fit. Go.” slogan as “Live. Fit. Goal.”
State grant helps Iowa pork farmer expand business, educate consumers
Chad Yoder, who operates Yoder Family Farms, received a $25,000 grant from the Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants program.
Rapid City employees weigh in on the best sports movies of all time
A City staff survey asked employees to name their must-watch sports movie. Baseball films led, with The Sandlot, Happy Gilmore and Miracle topping the list.
Gunman at White House Correspondents’ Dinner raises questions about event’s security protocol
The suspected gunman who charged past a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday has renewed questions about Secret Service protocols and whether there should be changes to the already tight cordon at the annual star-studded event.
Deputies: Woman with dementia, other mental health issues last seen at Greenville County home
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911.
Visualizing the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting incident in maps
A suspected gunman was apprehended Saturday after blowing past a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton just as events were getting underway for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
DIALOGUE: Aspire Palooza 2026 to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month in Albany
On this week’s Dialogue, ASPIRE’s Marlon Jones and Brittany Craft said the event celebrates Children’s Mental Health Awareness Month and focuses on mental health for the entire family. Albany State University head women’s basketball coach Todd Triplett and assistant coaches Yasmine Fairchild and Tyjanae Brown also discussed an upcoming basketball team camp.
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/26
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/26
Green Bay area high school sports results for Saturday, April 25
High school baseball, softball, track and field, soccer and tennis teams were in action.
Appleton area high school sports results for Saturday, April 25
High school baseball, softball, soccer, track and field, and tennis teams were in action.
USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital hosts NICU reunion for former patients, families
The annual event brings together caregivers and children treated in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.
Gunman Was Tackled by Law Enforcement Near Correspondents’ Dinner Security Checkpoint
The gunman did not make it inside the hotel ballroom where President Trump, top officials and hundreds of journalists had gathered for dinner.
Shooter opened fire inside hotel where Trump was attending dinner, law enforcement official says
President Trump evacuated after security incident at White House correspondents dinner.
Entertainment: 2026 SPAM JAM; Na Hoku Hanohano Awards
SPAM JAM takes over Kalakaua Ave today at 1 p.m. The block party starts at 4 with music, vendors and SPAM dishes.
Bats Test Positive for Rabies Across the U.S.—Health Officials Issue Warning
Find out what to do if you're exposed.
Denver Broncos select PLAYER with their 170th overall selection
With their 152nd overall selection in the 5th round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select NC State TE Justin Joly The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had Justin Joly as his TE5 in this draft and had a 3rd/4th round grade on him. Now, the Broncos trade up to get him in the 5th […]
Steam Controller review leaks, but price of Steam Machine accessory may disappoint
After reports that Valve had received shipments of the accessory, a Steam Controller review has appeared. Deleted ahead of a likely release date update, a YouTuber praised its responsive dual trackpads. Even so, the price may make it more difficult to discount the Steam Machine.
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/25
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/25
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/25
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/25
Trump Seeks to Abolish Iran’s Atomic Stockpile, a Problem He Helped Create
President Trump withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear accord in 2018, saying it was the worst deal ever. But Iran responded with an enrichment spree that haunts the negotiations to this day.
Valley woman stalked by business owner after leaving 1-star review, court docs say
ChatGPT's Latest Update Makes It Harder Than Ever to Spot AI-Generated Images
ChatGPT's latest image model, Images 2.0, is capable of generating highly realistic images.
Entertainment: Flood Benefit Concert
More than 7,000 people packed a grassy lawn at Ko Olina for the "Aloha In Action" benefit concert last night.
Seaport Entertainment Group (SEG): Bill Ackman Admires This Entertainment Company
We just covered the 10 Best Long-Term Stocks to Buy According to Bill Ackman and Seaport Entertainment Group Inc. (NYSE:SEG) ranks 9th on this list. Seaport Entertainment Group Inc. (NYSE:SEG) first made an appearance in the 13F portfolio of Pershing Square in the third quarter of 2024. Back then, this position comprised just over 2 […]
Player availability report, presented by Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute: Orlando Pride at Racing Louisville FC
Here is this week's player availability report, presented by Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute, for Friday's away match at Racing Louisville FC.
Green Bay area high school sports results for Thursday, April 23
High school softball, baseball, soccer, track and field, and tennis teams were in action.
How school coaches are prioritizing mental health for student athletes
To get the best out of students, "we have to learn to love them holistically," says one Virginia wrestling coach who has taken mental health awareness training.
Bills stockpile picks while moving out of first round in NFL Draft
The Bills moved out of the first round entirely.
Ladies of London's Margo Stilley Says Her Panic Attack on the Show Led to Unexpected Health Discovery (Exclusive)
Ladies of London's Margo Stilley suffered a panic attack in the April 23 episode after insulting costar Mark-Francis Vandelli. In a new interview with PEOPLE, she explains that the panic attack led her to a health discovery she wasn't expecting.
Sports Talk: Miscellaneous Sports & More
Sports Talk: Miscellaneous Sports & More
Lowell Observatory highlights Route 66’s deep ties to science in Flagstaff
At Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Route 66 history meets science, space discovery and moon mission training.
'Leaving Neverland' director says Michael Jackson was 'worse than Jeffrey Epstein,' fans want to forget abuse claims
'Leaving Neverland' director Dan Reed slammed the Michael Jackson biopic 'Michael' for ignoring allegations of child sexual abuse, and opined that the late 'Thriller' singer was 'worse than Jeffrey Epstein.'
'A landmark moment for the field': FDA approves first-ever gene therapy for inherited deafness
A gene therapy made by Regeneron is the first treatment of its kind approved for genetic hearing loss.
Fantasy Baseball: It may be time to sell high on Munetaka Murakami, plus more skill vs. luck verdicts for key hitters
Rowena Dzorvakpor’s dual degree combines health care, business knowledge
The immigrant from Ghana hopes to use her experiences at Carolina to impact insurance groups or pharmaceutical companies.
Rowena Dzorvakpor’s dual degree combines health care, business knowledge
The immigrant from Ghana hopes to use her experiences at Carolina to impact insurance groups or pharmaceutical companies.
German Business Activity Unexpectedly Shrinks as Services Plunge
(Bloomberg)--German private-sector activity unexpectedly contracted as the Iran war triggered the biggest plunge in the services sector in more than three years.
I used Jeff Bezos’ 'Day 1' rule to fix my ChatGPT workflow — and it actually killed my procrastination
Adopting this rule helped me more proactive and avoid putting things off
Mariners P Logan Gilbert accidentally catches line drive in his jersey but doesn't get the out
The MLB rulebook addresses this exact situation.
DoD seeks to split Defense Health Program into two accounts in fiscal 2027
Prioritization of payments to health insurance companies degraded medical readiness platforms and military medical staff skills," DoD wrote.
CommonSpirit Health named to ‘Dirty Dozen’ list of employers that put profits over safety
CommonSpirit Health has been named to the “Dirty Dozen 2026” list by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH). The annual list from NCOSH names 12 companies whose disturbing disregard for safety includes repeated and serious violations of workplace safety laws and a history of ignoring known hazards.
Unique door helps kids learn science and engineering
The so-called “STEM Door” at McAuliffe Elementary School in the Cimarron Hills area does more than separate the library from the STEM Lab. Educators described it as a way to help students understand a range of scientific concepts.
Earth Day is a reminder. The planet doesn't wait for politics to...
Earth Day is a reminder. The planet doesn't wait for politics to catch up. In New Mexico, we're not waiting either. Last week, SunZia Wind came online right here in New Mexico — the largest...
Yankees players reportedly pitched team on wearing alternate uniforms for first time in team history
KU School of Business names 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients
KU School of Business will honor alumni John Brandmeyer and Ron Lockton for business leadership, community impact and service to KU.
Christian nationalists more likely to oppose gun regulations and support political violence, study finds
A new article finds that for Christian nationalists with a high gun-owner identity, there is an instilled culture of personal and community protection that makes them more likely to endorse extreme actions like violence.
Police: Suspect killed after officer-involved shooting at Asheville business
The Asheville Police Department said it is investigating an officer-involved shooting that took place on Tuesday night.
Microsoft Patches Critical ASP.NET Core CVE-2026-40372 Privilege Escalation Bug
CVE-2026-40372 scores 9.1 due to cryptographic flaw in ASP.NET Core 10.0.0–10.0.6, risking SYSTEM access.
College Where Charlie Kirk Was Killed Cancels Speech
Utah Valley University was thrilled that Sharon McMahon, a best-selling author, would speak at its graduation. And then her old posts resurfaced.
Trump blasted Obama’s Iran deal. Now he faces similar tradeoffs.
As U.S. envoys pursue peace talks, the president confronts persistent sticking points: sanctions relief, enrichment limits and the risk of empowering Tehran.
Health questions mount after Rep. Paul Gosar’s public remarks go viral
Rep. Paul Gosar's rambling remarks have raised questions among Democrats about whether he's healthy enough to run for reelection.
Dan Eggen, who shaped politics coverage at The Post, dies at 60
He helped guide Pulitzer Prize-winning projects, including coverage of Russian election interference in 2016 and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Does your business offer internships? This citywide program will amplify the experience
"The goal is to help them feel more connected – not just to their workplace but to Sioux Falls as a whole." If your business has interns, make sure they're part of this program.
Why soccer match timing confuses American sports fans
The clock counts up, never stops, and the game continues past 90 minutes — here's what's happening
Why soccer match timing confuses American sports fans
The clock counts up, never stops, and the game continues past 90 minutes — here's what's happening
Entertainment: Obamas say aloha to Netflix
The Obamas are saying aloha to a business partner and splitting with a streaming giant.
Experience Science City's Brand-New "Jurassic Journey"
Shane and Kerrigan join Floor Lead Travis Brown at Science City to explore their new, interactive dinosaur exhibit.
Shaky political science: using "simulated" elections over real-world elections
[Dear DSOS readers – this article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in early December, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting. We found that many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data, and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first three articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report, the second one analyzing a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report, and a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research]. In this fourth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we shine a spotlight on seven studies that were web-hosted and funded by New America’s Political Reform Program and its Electoral Reform Research Group (the ERRG is an ad hoc committee headed by New America’s Political Reform Program and joined by the American Enterprise Institute, the Unite America Institute and Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law). This research consortium has been led by Lee Drutman, senior fellow with New America’s Political Reform Program. These seven studies are simply not credible from any objective standard about how political “science” is supposed to illuminate our understanding of either ranked choice voting or politics in general. The feature that six of these seven studies have in common is that they all used surveys – artificial, simulated elections -- to attempt to say something cogent or interesting about ranked choice voting (RCV) elections. None of them used real world data from actual RCV elections – either the 1000+ elections in the US or the many thousands of elections from places like Australia, Ireland and elsewhere where RCV has been used for 100 years. While a few of these studies conclude with some mixed positives about RCV, our analysis here is content neutral. The idea that, with a political reform like RCV, you can ask respondents in a mock, artificial election to vote with that method, with only the barest of explanation about how RCV works or its likely impacts (i.e. no spoiler candidates, majority winners, voters liberated to pick their favorite candidates, coalition-building), and then ask them their thoughts/reactions about voting in that system, with fake candidates and no real campaigning, no real exposure to an actual election or actual candidates, rests on some very puzzling assumptions. The findings of these seven studies actually are contradicted by the findings from many other studies based on real-world RCV elections. These New America studies also failed to list the real-world RCV studies in their own citations, instead including those studies that reinforced their conclusions. The seven studies featured in this article were chosen because they form a cohesive cohort which precisely illustrates one of the main points of our research paper, namely that using surveys, i.e. artificial elections, or mathematical/theoretical models, instead of real-world data, is in fact “shaky political science.” Below are summaries of our analysis of five of the seven New America studies. You can read our complete analysis of all seven studies at our paper, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting.” Choosing to “Vote As Usual” by Andre Blais, Carolina Plescia, and Semra Sevi. New America. (Blais et al., 2021). This study, web-hosted and funded by New America’s Political Reform Program and its Electoral Reform Research Group, used two surveys in which respondents completed ballots for simulated elections using plurality, approval, RCV and point (Score) voting. In both cases the authors provided the respondents with only minimal explanation of each method. For example, the entire explanation for RCV was “For this vote, rank the candidates from your first to your last choice (you do not need to rank them all). This is called the ranked vote.” That’s it. The study did not provide any context or explanation to survey respondents about why she/he might want to rank multiple candidates. Participants were not even told that ballots would be tabulated using an “instant” runoff, not to mention any description of RCVs ability to eliminate the spoiler effect or liberate voters to rank their favorite candidates without fear of helping the “greater evil” candidate to win. That’s like taking an iPhone back in time to 1970 and asking someone if they like it better than their rotary phone without explaining how it works. Their first survey targeted states that held 2020 Super Tuesday Democratic primaries and used the real candidates’ names in the survey; the second survey used fictitious candidates. In other words, they surveyed respondents who had only ever participated in plurality elections, had no history or background with using RCV or any of the other methods, had no clue about its likely impacts, and did not communicate how the alternative methods would be counted, and then asked them: “How satisfied are you with using each system?” Predictably, the winner was plurality elections, the system used for president, Congress, gubernatorial and state legislative elections – in other words, the method they have been using, year after year, all their voting lives. With so little explanation of RCV and its impacts, this study is simply not credible in discovering anything useful about real-world RCV elections. It merely shows that a basic voter education campaign is needed when adopting a new election system. Additionally, the result contradicts many other post-election surveys following real RCV elections, asking opinions from voters who had just participated in a RCV election, that showed a great deal of satisfaction with RCV (see details on that in Studies 22-25 in our paper, as well as the four studies cited in the review for Study 28). Share Other studies on “satisfaction” and “understanding” make similar mistakes, in terms of basing their surveys on inadequate explanation to respondents and lack of education about context. How could any survey ever hope to measure accurately, in essence simulate a real-world election, without actual campaigning candidates, the media writing about those candidates, organizations endorsing candidates and voters being inundated with crucial information? More than anything, what these “studies” based on surveys show is that if you ask voters about something they don’t know very much about, and fail to adequately educate them, their responses will unsurprisingly reflect their confusion. Equally puzzling is that New America’s Electoral Reform Research Group, headed by political scientist Lee Drutman, found this to be a credible enough study that they not only published it but highlighted it in Drutman’s own discussion of research related to ranked choice voting. This pattern was repeated in study after study featured by New America’s Electoral Reform Research Group. For example in Ranked-Choice Voting and Political Expression: Voter Guides Narrow the Gap between Informed and Uninformed Citizens by Cheryl Boudreau, Jonathan Colner, and Scott MacKenzie, the researchers based their analysis on a survey which found that respondents who were asked to vote in a simulated RCV election, with minimal explanation of RCV or how it works, displayed less evidence of being informed about how to use RCV effectively, with the least informed voters ranking fewer candidates. As pointed out under the study above, in a real election voters are informed by a wide variety of methods, including public education by the election administration, by interested political groups, the media, and the candidates themselves who benefit from voters being aware of how to vote in the new system. In Support for Ranked-Choice Voting across Race and Partisanship by Joseph Anthony, David C. Kimball, Jack Santucci and Jamil Scott, the researchers used respondents from different parties and races voting in simulated plurality and RCV elections, who indicated their satisfaction with each voting method. Instead of using real world election results, the authors fell back on the easy, armchair and less reliable academic research methodology of making up mock elections. As with the other studies, little explanation was given of how RCV works or what its implications might be (electing majority winners or eliminating spoilers, for example). Unsurprisingly, this study found that respondents were not very satisfied with RCV. However, when the authors added an explanation that RCV has a tendency to elect more women and people of color, they found that this greater explanation increased the preference for RCV. The more voters were familiar with it, and the more they understood potential positive impacts – surprise! -- the more they were open to switching away from the status quo. Of note, the results from this study are thoroughly contradicted by a number of other studies whose data was obtained from real RCV elections with real voters. Those studies show a great deal of satisfaction with RCV. More “fake election” research An interesting wrinkle on this “research by fake elections” approach, which only served to illustrate how unreliable such “research” can become, was taken in Ranked-Choice Voting, Runoff, and Democracy: Insights from Maine and Other U.S. States by Joseph Cerrone and Cynthia McClintock_,_ also web-hosted and funded by New America’s ERRG. It gets high marks for creativity, but an eye-roll for thinking this could possibly add anything meaningful to our understanding of real world RCV elections. This study tried to determine whether RCV, plurality or two-round runoff elections provided greater voter satisfaction and acceptance of election results. To determine that, the authors conducted a survey asking if voters were satisfied with a fictional newspaper report of an election, with three different versions given to respondents – plurality, runoff and RCV, with variations of Republican/Democrat winners and variations of “come-from-behind” winners,” i.e. candidates not initially in first place but who win the “runoff.” Again, a minimal explanation of RCV or how it works was given, and the survey showed that respondents had the greatest unfamiliarity with RCV than the other methods. The unsurprising result? Respondents were much more satisfied with “come-from-behind” victories in a traditional two-round runoff election than in RCV, even though RCV is also a runoff system but with a single round of counting. Interestingly, the dissatisfaction with RCV disappeared for those who were more familiar with RCV. In fact, among those respondents who were “very familiar” with RCV, they were equally satisfied with RCV, runoff and plurality. Surprise, surprise. Again, what this study revealed, more than anything, is not only the inadequacy of the explanation for RCV given by the authors of this study, but the failure of the research format itself, thinking that such an artificial mock election could somehow simulate what actually happens in the real world in a real RCV election. Those four studies reviewed above are fitting examples of inadequate and shaky political “science.” Other studies reviewed in our paper from the New America/Electoral Reform Research Group cohort which also used mock elections included: Ranked-Choice Voting is an Acquired Taste by Joseph Anthony and David C. Kimball. New America. (Anthony et al., 2021). Ranked-Choice Voting is No Refuge for Extreme Candidates by Melissa Baker. New America. (Baker, 2021). Also included in this New America cohort is Does Ranked-Choice Voting Reduce Racial Polarization? by Yuki Atsusaka and Theodore Landsman, which actually did use real-world election results data but applied an odd and unconventional methodology to the data which relied on shaky assumptions and non-real-world scenarios that were too divorced from reality. To determine levels of “racially polarized voting,” the researchers imagined “ethnic parties,” by which they mean political parties for each ethnic group, which was especially odd since the election data they were using came from nonpartisan RCV races. But then they made an even odder assumption, namely that since race and ethnic characteristics of studied voters were not available, the authors tried to infer that information based on who voters selected and the racial make-up of voters in each district. This amounted to little more than vague and ambiguous guesswork dressed up with a bunch of mathematical equations used to give it a veneer of scientific appearance. Indeed, it seemed to assume racial polarization in order to prove racial polarization. Based on this questionable methodology, the authors concluded that RCV doesn’t reduce racial polarization. But the premise of this study missed an obvious reality: since RCV incentivizes more candidates to run and can result in more diverse fields of candidates, one would expect more racially-polarized voting in voters’ top rankings, not less, because more voters would have someone on that ballot who represents their racial or ethnic identity and more freedom to vote for their real first choice. By encouraging more diverse candidates and eliminating the spoiler effect, RCV facilitates voting for a favorite candidate of your own race and then selecting a second choice with the best likelihood of winning. The real measure is what voters do with their additional rankings – do they consider other candidates and vote “for the best of the rest”? This study didn’t tell us anything useful about that. But readily available data shows this is common in real RCV elections, and candidates act on this knowledge by engaging with voters outside their racial group. So the authors of this study failed to consider or account for what actually happens in real-world elections, and their conclusions are tainted by this failure. New America has contributed a great deal over the past 2.5 decades to our understanding of many policy areas, including politics and political reform (full disclosure: Steven Hill, one of the authors of this article and of the “Shaky Political Science” research paper and series, is a former senior fellow and former director of New America’s political reform program, 2005-2010). So it was especially disappointing that New America funded and published such a large batch of dubious studies about ranked choice voting. The stated praiseworthy goal of its Electoral Reform Research Group was to inspire new academic research about ranked choice voting that would shed light and help the public better understand the impacts of RCV. Instead, the ERRG research did just the opposite. It produced dubious research that created more confusion and misinformation. In so doing, New America’s political reform program contributed to “shaky political science.” Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS, a reader-supported digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe
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