Erin Merryn, center, flanked by Senators David J. Valesky, left, and Jeffrey D. Klein, at the New York state senate discussing Erin’s Law in October 2011.
New York State Senate
Erin’s Law requires the teaching of child sexual abuse and exploitation prevention classes from kindergarten through eighth grade. How it got adopted by 34 states is the story of one woman’s crusade.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger holds a news conference on Nov. 6, 2020, on the status of ballot counting in the close presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
There are dozens of secretaries of state in the US. Only one deals with foreign affairs. The majority of the rest, state secretaries of state, have powerful positions running elections in each state.
Supporters of Issue 1, which would codify reproductive rights, including abortion, in the Ohio Constitution, cheer election results on Nov. 7, 2023.
Andrew Spear/Getty Images
Election year 2024 will see citizen initiatives on the ballot across the country, some focused on abortion rights. But there’s a growing trend of lawmakers altering initiatives after they have passed.
Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife arrive at the U.S. District Court in New York City on Sept. 27, 2023.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
California’s governor has already announced his pick for the the seat, Laphonza Butler. Here’s more on the state-by-state process for replacing a senator who has died, is facing criminal charges or has serious illness.
When the Constitution was written, the term ‘We the People’ had a very limited application for voting rights.
Antenna/Getty Images
It’s official: State courts can review lawmakers’ election-district boundary decisions to ensure they comply with state law.
Kansas legislators Brenda Landwehr, left, and Chris Croft confer during a vote on an anti-transgender bathroom bill, which both support.
AP Photo/John Hanna
Affirmative action, discrimination against LGBTQ people and election laws are some of the hot-button issues that the Supreme Court will tackle this fall.
There are ways to get things done under the U.S. Capitol dome.
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
What makes an effective lawmaker? Two scholars have studied 50 years of congressional legislating, and they’ve got a scorecard and a plan.
An Indiana Senate committee hearing on a GOP proposal to ban nearly all abortions in the state, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, July 26, 2022.
AP Photo/Michael Conroy
Why do government policies sometimes fail to reflect the public will? The answer begins with the design of the US government system, forged in the 18th century.
State Sen. Joseph Thomas, D-Yazoo City, holds a copy of the proposed congressional redistricting map during debate over redistricting at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Jan. 12, 2022.
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
The results of the latest round of redistricting have advanced the anti-democratic trend where elected leaders choose their voters, undermining representative government.
Above the Tennessee State Capitol, only skies. In it, any atheists?
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Anti-atheism is ingrained in American politics. A refusal to remove outdated language from state Constitutions perpetuates this prejudice.
After mass shootings, there are more calls for gun control. Here’s one in Boulder, Colo., where 10 people died in a shooting.
Jason Connolly / AFP/Getty Images
After mass shootings, politicians in Washington have failed to pass new gun control legislation, despite public pressure. But laws are being passed at the state level, largely to loosen restrictions.
An election worker during mail-in ballot counting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Nov. 6, 2020.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
A record number of people voted in the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost, Joe Biden won. Now, GOP legislators across the country are trying to pass measures to limit voting.
In a photo from 2004, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama, right, speaks with a fellow legislator on the floor of the state Senate chamber.
AP photo/Randy Squires
Robin E. Best, Binghamton University, State University of New York e Steve B. Lem, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
State legislatures, which will draw congressional districts that last through 2030, are dominated by the GOP.
Michigan Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, left, and Republican House Speaker Lee Chatfield are among those expected to visit the White House.
AP Photo/David Eggert