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Articles on Federalism

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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

What does a state’s secretary of state do? Most run elections, a once-routine job facing increasing scrutiny

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.
Police place a fence at the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 8, 2024, before justices heard arguments over whether Donald Trump is ineligible for the 2024 ballot. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Supreme Court skeptical that Colorado − or any state − should decide for whole nation whether Trump is eligible for presidency

Partisan differences at the Supreme Court seemed to be set aside as conservative and liberal justices alike asserted concerns about giving states too much power over national elections.
Fulton County Sheriff officers block off a street in front of the Fulton County Courthouse on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Georgia’s indictment of Trump is a confirmation of states’ rights, a favorite cause of Republicans since Reagan

Donald Trump faces ‘double the trouble’ as Georgia charges were added to federal charges brought over his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. And that’s thanks to federalism.
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie (C) and Ghana’s founder and first President Kwame Nkrumah (L) during the formation of the Organisation of African Unity. STR/AFP via Getty Images

60 years of African unity: what’s failed and what’s succeeded

The African Union compares well to other continental unions. It accomplishes more than the Commonwealth or the Francophonie.
Raw sewage bubbles up in the front yard of a home in Jackson, Mississippi, on Oct. 20, 2021. Rory Doyle/The Washington Post via Getty Images

How to steer money for drinking water and sewer upgrades to the communities that need it most

Congress has approved billions of dollars to fix water and sewer systems across the US. But getting that money to needy communities depends on how states define a key word.
Kwame Nkrumah favoured continental federalism but worked against its practice in Ghana. Wikimedia Commons

How Ghana lost its federalism – and lessons for others

Ghana lost its federalism due to mistaken political choices and missed opportunities, suggesting that other federations in Africa might well be at similar risk.
The Richardson Independent School District in Texas is among the many districts across the state defying the governor’s mask mandate ban to require masks for students. AP Photo/LM Otero

Who has the power to say kids do or don’t have to wear masks in school – the governor or the school district? It’s not clear

If it sounds like the law is all over the place on school mask mandates, that’s because it is. The nation’s schools are subject to a complex web of local, state and federal laws.

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