SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " OPINION " 1,372 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
OPINION: Against all odds, a small school in a big city is changing lives by focusing on emotions
Emotional health intake forms help assess what is going on inside the heart of troubled teens even before they enter the classroom
As I see it | US’ scientific self-harm will only help China
While Washington slashes funding for the sciences, Beijing is clinching its lead in everything from patent applications to publications.
Howard Schultz takes a jab at Seattle after moving to Miami
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz criticized the city and its mayor in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
There's a New AP Business Course. College Board's CEO Explains Why (Opinion)
David Coleman talks financial literacy, workforce readiness, and engaging Gen Z.
Seattle Turns Hostile to the Great Businesses It Made
Starbucks is moving jobs from Washington state to Tennessee, and it isn’t alone in looking elsewhere.
‘Your mental health problems are not caused by a simple thing’
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
A Decade After Brexit, British Politics Is Coming Apart
The rise of populism and increasingly radical leftism could be a foretaste of the American political future.
Opinion | We’re Thinking About Mental Health Diagnoses All Wrong
Neither genetics nor brain scans can distinguish a person with depression, A.D.H.D. or autism from one without.
Science Reveals the Ideal Age Gap for a Couple That Actually Lasts
You have probably scrolled past at least one debate about age gaps this week. Maybe it was a celebrity couple sparking hot takes, or a friend defending their relationship math over brunch. We all seem to have an opinion on how many years between partners is too many – or just right. But what if...
Opinion: How Alaska’s small businesses are redefining ‘local’ in the digital frontier
National Small Business Week is a time to celebrate the grit and ingenuity of entrepreneurs here in Alaska and across the country.
Column: America’s broken politics are dragging it down a fiscal black hole
Restoring fiscal control demands a comprehensive plan to raise taxes and cut entitlement spending substantially, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Clive Crook writes.
FDA Policies: Rigorous Science or Roadblocks?
Readers debate how the Food and Drug Administration should handle treatments for rare diseases.
Chicago Teachers Union wants $8.5 million dues hike to fund politics
“Has your brand become toxic?” This was a pointed question from WGN Political Editor Tahman Bradley, posed to Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates in a recent interview. Her immediate response: “I don’t understand the question.” When pressed, Gates added, “The Chicago Teachers Union is not a political party, it is a labor union.” But internal union documents show CTU leadership is trying to skim $8.5 million more from teacher paychecks explicitly for politics, while trying to silence union members critical of Gates’ leadership. Under the proposed dues hike, Chicago teachers would see up to $800 more per year flow from their paychecks to union coffers. The union already takes in more than $40 million a year, mostly from dues. And it spends less than 18 cents of every dollar on teacher representation. The No. 1 reason for the proposed dues hike? Politics. “We must win a majority of the first 21 person fully elected school board in November,” reads the first point in CTU’s member FAQ document.1 This directly contradicts CTU’s promise to members about how leadership uses dues money. The official CTU handbook tells members that the union does not use dues money for politics, so if they are interested in funding political activity, they should consider voluntary donations to CTU’s political action committee. “Our dues are not used for political purposes,” according to the handbook. “So our PAC relies on extra contributions from our members to support progressive candidates and to impact elected officials at the city, county and state levels.” This kind of double-speak is one reason members are concerned about another constitutional change slipped into the dues hike vote, which will take place on May 20-21: an attempt to stop members from holding the union accountable. A proposed amendment to the union constitution tries to place limits on when members may bring a lawsuit against the union for violating members’ rights.2 This provision is clearly a response to members’ lawsuit against union leadership regarding Gates’ years-long refusal to publish audited financial statements. The judge in that case has repeatedly denied the union’s attempts to dismiss it. Teachers opposed to these changes have been circulating this flier, urging members to vote no. What will CTU members get in return for millions of dollars in additional dues? If the 2024 school board elections are any indication—not much. CTU leadership’s record on school board races may not inspire confidence among members. A Chicago Policy Center analysis of a dozen affiliated PACs found CTU spent nearly $2.9 million on school board races in 2024. Of that spending, more than $2.1 million (75%) went to losing candidates. And while CTU-backed candidates lost six of the nine competitive seats overall, they fared worse in their biggest-spending races, losing five of six contests in which the union and its affiliates put up more than $250,000 for their candidate. The Chicago school board elections take place Nov. 3.3 Is another $8.5 million enough to clean up a toxic reputation? Not likely. Update on federal tax credit scholarship: Last week, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to opt into the federal tax credit scholarship program. If Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker follows suit, Illinois could unlock $1 billion in donor money statewide for both public- and private-school students. If Illinois does not opt in, that money will flow to other states. The Last Ward reported in February on how Illinois Democrats could unlock at least $100 million in new resources for Chicago public-school students by opting in. Update on the investigation into how Chicagoans learned about a meeting to hike their property taxes: The Last Ward reported in January on an absurd, taxpayer-funded investigation into how local media learned of a planned Chicago school board meeting to hike the district’s property tax levy. That investigation is now complete. Lawyers interviewed two dozen witnesses, and found nothing. Update on Illinois’ muni debt crisis: My colleague Joe Tabor last week published a must-read piece in Crain’s Chicago Business about how Illinois recently rejected south suburban Harvey’s request to be designated a “distressed city.” The saga shows why the state must implement a better structure to assist insolvent local governments, including allowing for the option to pursue debt relief via Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The Last Ward reported in October on how Harvey is tipping the first domino in Illinois’ municipal debt crisis. Mincing Rascals: I joined the Mincing Rascals podcast to discuss the SAFE-T Act, the millionaires tax, and more. My “green light” recommendation: Force Majeure (2014). 1 Notably, the No. 2 reason cited is “resources to fund a state-wide millionaires tax campaign in order to fully fund the state’s school funding formula.” The constitutional amendment necessary to implement a progressive income tax in Illinois recently died in the Illinois House, meaning this question would not appear on the ballot until 2028 at the earliest. 2 There is seemingly no single-subject rule for CTU constitutional amendments. So members only get one vote on the full package. One cannot vote “yes” on the dues hike and “no” on the restriction of members’ rights, for example. 3 Illinois law grants far too much power over local government to unelected officials like Gates. State lawmakers should fix that.
Opinion: US constitutional freedom now twisted to mean abusing others
The United States' great story is inventing constitutional democracy out of monarchy. Now it's the story of freedom to exploit and abuse others.
Opinion: San Diego’s hidden health crisis is floating in the air
Cross-border challenges are complex. They require coordination, diplomacy and sustained funding. But complexity cannot become an excuse for inaction.
Opinion | A Double Standard In Connecticut Politics
In a guest column for the New Haven Independent, Matt Smith says there is ageism and sexism in play from young men who are trying to unseat state Rep. Pat Dillon — thinly masked by dog whistles like “young” and “new energy,” which appear to be the sole foundations of their campaigns.
Annenberg Health and Science Survey Wins AAPOR’s Policy Impact Award | The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
The Annenberg Public Policy Center's ASAPH survey has won the American Association for Public Opinion Research’s 2026 Policy Impact Award.
Opinion | How Barney Frank helped reinvent Boston
He and other ambitious, outsider-minded aides steered the city away from parochial politics and toward lasting change.
The Politics of Estrangement
It’s sad to see family members and friends cut each other off over political disagreements.
Fetterman Says He Has ‘No Plans’ to Leave the Democratic Party
In an opinion piece in The Washington Post, the Pennsylvania senator wrote that while he was “at odds” with the party’s approach to some issues, his values had not changed.
Radiologists speak out against whole-body MRI screening in prominent editorial
Matthew S. Davenport, MD, MBA, and Scott B. Reeder, MD, PhD, made their plea to patients and providers in an opinion piece published May 6 in JAMA.
Opinion - Bill Bishop: ‘Grievance politics’ thrives on chaos and confusion. That’s our system now
Columnist Chris Clayton noticed something odd in the Trump Administration’s budget for the Department of Agriculture. Since the USDA is the federal government’s primary contact with rural America, Clayton expected to see the word “rural” in the document. And it was there – 12 times in 92 pages. But there were other words that seemed...
What’s eating healthcare AI? Not healthcare AI itself
When AI fails to thrive in healthcare, the problem is usually not with an algorithm. It’s with something deeper. Three unrelated opinion pieces authored by far-flung subject matter experts hit on this theme just this week.
How Will AI Reshape Politics? New Volume Co-Edited by Stanford Law’s Nathaniel Persily Explores the Stakes
STANFORD, Calif., May 6, 2026 — As artificial intelligence reshapes political campaigns, public administration, national security, public opinion, a
Opinion: To lower health care costs, widen the pool providing routine care | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Rethinking who is allowed to do certain health care tasks—and increasing the supply of providers at every level—could help lower health care costs in the U.S., according to an opinion piece co-authored by Harvard Chan School’s Thomas Tsai and Ashish Jha.
Whose Responsibility? The ICJ’s Climate Opinion and the Politics of Differentiation
Wassim Dbouk on the ICJ’s climate opinion and the politics of differentiation.
Opinion: Chicago companies offer a playbook for implementing place-based investments
On the South and West Sides of Chicago, place-based investments are bringing jobs, training and capital closer to home and advancing the city’s economy
Opinion: Politics has come to work, once an apolitical space
A colleague recently emailed me a picture of a seemingly political gesture that was roiling her office and asked me what I thought. The picture was of a 10-by-3-inch sticker,
Opinion | New bill would give Minnesota small businesses $100M after ICE surge
ICE actions have resulted in at least $600 million in lost revenue in Minneapolis-St. Paul alone and an estimated $240 million in wages, business leaders write.
Opinion: Speaking the truth about the Pope and politics
In 1938, Monsignor Fulton Sheen wrote, “There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the […]
Opinion | If Michigan wants a government that works, it must get money out of politics
Whether you’re focused on clean water, affordable energy or economic security, the same pattern keeps showing up: Too often, the biggest checks carry the most weight.
Climate Science and the Crisis of Credibility
The distinction between science and consensus matters.
GUEST OPINION: What if politics practiced the spirit of aloha?
In today’s political climate, public discourse often feels more like combat than conversation. Citizens are divided, leaders trade insults instead of ideas, and the tone of our national, state and local dialogue grows increasingly harsh. It seems to me that many Americans are unconcerned with the vitriolic and polarizing behavior of our government leaders and […]
Fallout Co-Creator Says Some Players Watch Influencers So They Can Be Told What to Think About Games
Fallout co-creator Tim Cain has shared his fear that some gamers are watching influencers just so they can be "handed an opinion from the online channel they're watching."
Opinion: Young people make nonprofit boards better. Here’s how.
Research suggests that young people have greater optimism, creativity, and motivation to drive social change than other age groups.
Resident Evil Requiem Producer Glad Fans Didn't Like Grace's AI Redesign
Capcom producer Masato Kumazawa believes that fans' 'strong opinions' on Grace's DLSS 5 makeover were an overall positive for the team
Opinion | This Is the Biggest Culprit for High Health Care Spending
Prices at hospitals have grown faster than prices in virtually any other sector of the economy.
Opinion | Stop paying doctors to do everyone else's jobs
Letting nurses, pharmacists, and AI handle routine care could make the system cheaper and more efficient.
Opinion | Academic research in science is complicated
Complicated enough for a thoughtfully appointed National Science Board. Which, suddenly, we no longer have, writes a University of Minnesota professor emeritus.
Opinion | In a Minneapolis Public School, a Cure for Toxic Politics
This school gave me hope for our democracy.
When funding cuts came — these scientists turned to journalism | The Stony Brook Press
Amid funding cuts to scientific institutions across the country, Isako Di Tomassi co-founded the McClintock Letters initiative, a science communication project that publishes opinion pieces written by scientists about their work and why it should continue to be funded. From protecting apples in Washington state to developing novel insecticides in Indiana, the initiative has published over 200 op-eds, all written by scientists defending their federally funded science, across 46 states.
ONBOOKS | OPINION: Forensic science, uncertainty, and ‘classical mistakes’
New biography of Alan R. Moritz traces how forensic science learned to define what it can — and cannot — know.
Opinion | Target’s problem isn’t politics. It’s credibility.
Target didn’t lose customers because it took a stand. It lost them because it didn’t, marketing professor Akshay R. Rao writes.
Times Opinion: Corporations spend big in Florida politics
Before Florida's legislative session began in January, corporations, political committees and lobbyists showered the accounts of some of the state's most influential lawmakers with a fresh $14 million in a single day.
Opinion - Colorblind Constitution: The Roberts court ends a ‘sordid business’
This decision will cement the legacy of the Roberts Court in moving the country toward a colorblind system of laws.
Oakland lost a shared language when its sports teams left
OPINION: For a long time, we had something rare in Oakland, and in its absence we see just how special it was, Adrienne Elenteny writes.
Business Lookahead: Eyeing oil, US jobs, and European earnings
STORY: From high oil prices and the conflict in the Middle East to U.S. jobs data and corporate earnings, here’s what you need to watch in business and finance in the week ahead.:: Crude and currencyOil prices briefly topped $120 a barrel this week to hit their highest level since 2022 as the war with Iran enters a third month.While the U.S. and Iran face pressure to end a conflict that has shut the Strait of Hormuz, the world watches anxiously as the biggest-ever disruption to energy supplies unfolds.For each week the Strait is closed, keeping oil elevated, the greater the economic risks via higher inflation or weak growth or, for some, both. Oil importer Japan just intervened to prop up a yen that has been weakened by the conflict.A new month is now underway and some traders will be mindful of that old adage, "Sell in May and go away.":: Jobs gyrationsAs the U.S. economy grapples with fallout from the Middle East war, Wall Street's radar turns to Friday's April monthly payrolls report.The U.S. economy likely created 73,000 new jobs, economists polled by Reuters forecast. In March, payrolls increased by 178,000, the most since December 2024, but that followed a sharp decline in February.The U.S. employment data comes amid signs of hawkishness at the Federal Reserve, as Donald Trump pick Kevin Warsh prepares to take over as chair with the U.S. president keen on rate cuts.:: Starmer’s statusThursday's local elections in Britain, usually a non-event for investors, could move markets in a big way, with opinion polls pointing to a heavy defeat for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party.A heavy defeat could spark more widespread demands for his dismissal among his own lawmakers and stoke expectations of a successor more willing to run looser budgets. That would bring more bad news for British bonds.::European earningsIt's a big week for European earnings with Shell and Commerzbank among those reporting.On aggregate, profits are expected to grow 3.2% in Q1, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. Under the surface, it's a little bit more complicated. Growth is expected to be driven by just three sectors: financials, tech and energy. The latter is seen as the biggest beneficiary of the Iran war due to higher oil and gas prices.But if the war, and energy surge, persist, the overall outlook for Europe's earnings could turn.
‘The most accurate measure of our national capacity has always been sea power’
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
Cincinnati's Charter Committee must get louder or get lost
Opinion: Cincinnati's one-party dominance is weakening debate and accountability. The Charter Committee must evolve to restore balance.
I'm running to serve Hamilton County not climb the ladder
Opinion: Hamilton County residents need a commissioner focused on public services, committed to the truth and not looking for their next job.
Angel to business startups and civic causes is 2026 Tri-Citian of the Year
The successful tech entrepreneur is winner of the top community honor.
Opinion: Sheinbaum's political gambit reshapes Mexico in her own image
Eighteen months into her term as Mexico's president, Sheinbaum is making strategic moves to consolidate her power, María Meléndez explains.
‘We need to take a new approach to break this cycle’
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
Reid Hoffman Thinks Doctors Should Ask AI for a Second Opinion
The LinkedIn cofounder now has an AI drug discovery startup—and thinks not asking chatbots for medical advice is “bordering on committing malpractice.”
Opinion: Betting on politics hinders legitimate civic engagement
Platform Kalshi allows users to bet on politics, pop culture and global events. Our columnist warns this normalizes gambling habits that raise serious ethical risks for society and civic behavior.
Joel Pollak: This could be a ‘profound political change’ in California
‘California Post’ opinion editor Joel Pollak analyzes the playing field of California’s gubernatorial candidates on ‘Fox News @ Night.’
Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s historic Voting Rights Act opinion and what’s next
The Supreme Court kicked yet another leg out from under the Voting Rights Act on Wednesday, the landmark 1965 civil rights law that Chief Justice John Roberts’ court has repeatedly undermined over the years.
Theetge firing is one big public relations stunt
Opinion: Firing Theetge is not about performance but about a mayor and city manager trying to buy their way out of a political disaster they created.
Politics’ Third Law: Equal and Opposite Gerrymandering
On a national scale, parties’ skeevy redistricting largely cancels out. Voters are the casualty.
Will Doctors Follow the Science on Gender-Confused Kids?
The recent Finnish study is a scientific tour-de-force.
‘The energy behind these drugs has moved from the beatniks to biohackers’
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
Is Anything a Political Scandal Anymore?
Students discuss how the threshold for public disgrace has changed.
Opinion | Assassination Attempts Have Unforeseen Political Consequences
Assassination attempts against sitting presidents have tended to compound their political problems and isolate them from the public.
Opinion: Amid normalization of dark humor, Bruins must choose empathy over entertainment
Countless internet creators have employed dark humor as a means to go viral. Some have made posts joking about people being sent to war amid the United States’ military action in Iran.
Opinion: Atlanta airport shouldn’t be hostage to D.C. shutdown politics
Government shutdowns show how much damage they can do to airport operations. That's why Atlanta's airport should opt out of TSA and use private contractors.
Opinion | Political Campaigns Have No Idea What’s About to Hit Them
Social media helped put Trump over the top. What’s A.I. going to do to us?
Opinion | Political Violence Isn’t Just Evil. It’s Counterproductive.
Each act of political violence further frays our threadbare social fabric, laying the foundation for authoritarianism.
Opinion: Illinois’ ‘flat’ tax isn’t flat — and it’s costing us billions
Illinoisans are struggling to afford the basics. The least we can do is stop subsidizing the luxuries of people who have everything they need and then some.
‘House of Cards:’ Mental health crisis in Florida’s criminal justice system
A lack of space in state-run mental health facilities and growing waitlists point to a system balancing legal standards, medical opinions, and limited resources—often under intense pressure.
Opinion | Getting handle on how insurance spurs high health care costs
Readers react to Dr. Ashish K. Jha's argument that high deductibles and flawed incentives are pushing prices higher.
Flutter Entertainment Stock (FLUT) Opinions on Kenneth Dart's Stake Increase
Insider Accumulation: Social media buzz intensified around Flutter Entertainment after reports of billionaire investor Kenneth Dart boosting his stake to nearly 30% through cash-settled swaps valued at around $45 million. Traders highlighted this as a strong vote of confidence amid the stock's recent pullback from highs. The move aligns with other insiders snapping up shares at depressed levels.Technical Reversal Signals: Chart enthusiasts pointe
Why The Narrative Around Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) Is Shifting With New Street Signals
Recent Street research around Madison Square Garden Entertainment has produced several price target moves, including individual increases of between US$2 and US$6, while the consolidated target shift sits at about US$2. Bullish initiations and fresh coverage from major firms such as JPMorgan highlight growing attention, even as the removal from Goldman Sachs' US Conviction List and more cautious targets show that opinions are still split. In the sections ahead, you will see how these...
Opinion | This Minnesota bill would crack down on outrageous resale ticket prices
"There’s nothing free about a market where tickets listed don’t even exist, consumers don’t have a shot at tickets on on sale because they’re scooped up by algorithms, and prices are driven up by bots," Dayna Frank writes.
Cut in half: Nike ACG Ultrafly Trail Review (2026)
Nike ACG Ultrafly Trail review: Nike clearly listened to feedback from the first Ultrafly, and the ACG reboot delivers a much better product. We found in the lab that the new dual-plate setup, upgraded ZoomX foam, and lower weight create a true trail super shoe that surprised us right away. It's perfect for flying over gravel roads or easy, flat trails. The premium price is hard to ignore, and the high drop may divide opinions, but in our view, this is an amazing weapon for crushing all your personal bests.
Top 5: UFC Vegas 116 ‘Fight of the Night’ candidates
Expectations continue to mobilize behind Youssef Zalal in the court of public opinion. Aljamain Sterling now stands in his way.
Opinion | The Political Defeats of Elon Musk
His political malpractice will loom large in the history of Trump 2.0.
Opinion: Our health care struggles
The One Beautiful Bill Act threatens rural health care with drastic Medicaid cuts, despite the Rural Health Transformation Program's $50 billion compromise.
‘Gerrymandering warps the balance of minority and majority rights’
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
Don’t Dismiss the ‘Science of Math’ Movement (Opinion)
Standards of evidence must be applied consistently if ed. policy is to improve student outcomes.
‘James Joyce: A Political Life’ by Frank Callanan
The writer left his native Ireland when he was a young man, but the nation’s frustrated struggle for independence haunted the fiction he wrote in exile.
‘How Black Music Took Over the World’ Review: Science and Rhythm
Many of the world’s most popular music genres have their origins in black traditions. Western notation can’t always capture African musical innovations.
Letters to the Editor: Transactional leadership has its place in business, but not in war
'Let me suggest that, instead, a transformational leadership style that builds on knowledge, ideas, motivation and experience, among other attributes, to form results that will last beyond Band-Aid tr...
Birdbrained Science: My God, it’s full of stars
I’ve been a casual stargazer ever since high school when I first watched a meteor shower with some of my friends. The stars often (and rightfully, in my opinion) get romanticized; countless people …
Opinion | I’m One of Cuba’s Political Prisoners. When Will I Go Free?
Nearly five years in Cuban prison have taught me that the government won’t loosen its hold on power.
Sports columnist gives final opinions nobody really cares about
Hello, and welcome to my final story for The Daily Texan! I’ve procrastinated writing this, as we are currently 50 minutes out from the deadline, but I’ve done this because I didn’t really want to write it. But now here I am, writing it, because I think it’s the right thing to do, and also...
Opinion | The New York Times and the Politics of Theft and Murder
How low can the newspaper go?
Opinion: Let's take closer look at sports gambling addictions in CT
'We should take an honest data-driven look at how sports and online betting affects Connecticut residents, particularly young people,' Sen. Tony Hwang writes.
Opinion |Future of faith — and politics — may run through young men
The kind of faith they embrace could either heal fractures or deepen them.
‘School board members, superintendents, parents and students are all important voices’
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
Opinion: Three ideas for how Chicago should handle stadium deals
Chicago faces major stadium decisions. UChicago grad students offer policy ideas to guide public investment and team partnerships.
Opinion: A new financing model can make Chicago a global sports leader
A dual-track model for stadium funding could help Chicago attract major events while aligning public investment with long-term returns.
Week in cartoons (opinion): Religion and politics mix with ink
Religious controversies involving President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the pope inspire political cartoonists.
"Not surprising at all" - analysts see Xbox Game Pass price cut as inevitable shift that will drive subscription growth in 2026
Price drop expected to aid growth in platform users, while opinion is divided on the impact on Call of Duty revenues
STAFF OPINION: Entertainment vibe check: Every show and movie has its moment and season
There is a specific season for certain movies or shows to be watched.
Opinion | Seizing Property Can’t Be ‘Business as Usual’
From California to Hong Kong, asset seizure—whether a wealth tax or communist crackdown—discourages growth and liberty.
Acton's domestic dispute twisted into Ramaswamy campaign fodder
Opinion: Dr. Amy Acton's clash with her husband reflects strain of relentless work.
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