Al Vanderklipp (@alvanderklipp.bsky.social)

@sightline.org Oct 7, 2026, 4:15 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

Since Alaskans adopted top-four primaries and ranked choice voting, legislative elections feature closer margins, more viable candidates, and more challengers unseating incumbents. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

@kevinrkosar.bsky.social Sep 21, 2026, 12:26 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

A new report by Scott Warren and me: www.understandingcongress.org/congress-is-...

We're having a program about this subject on Wednesday. Come or tune in! www.aei.org/events/congr...

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social Sep 2, 2026, 4:22 PM

There is! www.sightline.org/2026/01/20/d...

sightline.orgDistricts Won’t Truly Represent Deschutes County Residents | Sightline InstituteProportional representation can better reflect voters’ views than arbitrary lines.

@adambonica.bsky.social Aug 16, 2026, 9:40 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

There are four overlapping scandals here: 1. Fundraising spam tactics are hallmarks of elder financial exploitation 2. The Dem establishment is in on it 3. Most of what is raised goes to fundraising consultants 4. Capitulation to legal threats by NYT and The Bulwark on a fully vetted story 🧵👇

data4democracy.substack.comHook and SqueezeHow Democratic consultants, committees, and party leaders built a fundraising spam pipeline that funnels money from a captive pool of elderly donors into their own operations.

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social Aug 11, 2026, 9:40 PM

Re-reading an old article for a project I'm working on... I fear I may never top this section header but I'll keep doing my best

Text reading "Local councils: Caught between a bloc and a ward place"

@sightline.org Aug 3, 2026, 4:06 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

After Alaska and Portland, OR upgraded their elections to ranked choice voting, campaigners had to pivot—but some strategies stayed the same.

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social shares notes for Multnomah County (OR), Seattle, and other places soon to switch.

sightline.orgHow to Run a Campaign Under Ranked Choice Voting, According to Those Who Have Done It | Sightline InstituteCampaign staffers and political organizers recount how they shifted strategies after voters in Alaska and Portland, Oregon, chose the reform.

@yeargain.bsky.social Jun 30, 2026, 2:05 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

The Supreme Court cannot be trusted on LGBT rights. My evergreen call is to LITIGATE TRANS RIGHTS IN THE STATES! Many state constitutions contain more robust protections of equality and explicit rights to privacy.

moritzlaw.osu.edu/sites/defaul...

Litigating Trans Rights in the States
QUINN YEARGAIN*

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

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

Not only are state courts available, but many state constitutions provide litigants with unequivocally stronger claims. While the U.S. Constitution does not contain an Equal Rights Amendment, many states do—and review gender-based discrimination under strict scrutiny. While the scope of privacy rights under the U.S. Constitution is ambiguous after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, many state constitutions contain robust privacy protections that have long been more expansive than the federal right to privacy. Most state constitutions also contain many, many more rights than the U.S. Constitution does, providing advocates with more claims still.

@yeargain.bsky.social Jun 30, 2026, 2:16 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

this WILL be relegated to the dust bin of history. it will take time, it will take effort, and it will not be easy. but this sort of bigotry will age like fucking milk, and we will look back on it with the same contempt that we do other Supreme Court opinions that gleefully entrench inequality.

Jay Willis@jaywillis.netJun 30, 2026, 2:06 PM

Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion in the trans sports ban case in West Virginia contains some of the ugliest transphobic stuff I have ever seen in a legal opinion. Straight-up gleeful. Vile man. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

2 WEST VIRGINIA v. B. P. J.
THOMAS, J., concurring
judgment). Because “gender dysphoria” is a mutable men-
tal state that is the object of psychiatric treatment, it does
not resemble the immutable characteristics on the basis of
which our precedents have applied heightened scrutiny—
race, sex, or national origin. Instead, gender dysphoria re-
sembles other characteristics on the basis of which legisla-
tures may classify with a merely rational basis. See, e.g.,
Heller v. Doe, 509 U. S. 312, 321 (1993) (mental illness);
Plyler v. Doe, 457 U. S. 202, 220 (1982) (immigration sta-
tus). Legislatures have many obvious rational bases to
keep men who believe that they are women out of teams
and private spaces reserved for women.
Second, as the Court recognizes, this case concerns “bio-
logical men” and “boys who identify as girls.” Ante, at 10,
27. Men and boys with gender dysphoria are not women or
girls, even if they believe that they are. Sex is an immuta-
ble “biological” characteristic, see ante, at 10; it is binary;
and “man” and “woman,” “boy” and “girl,” are the terms that
correspond to adults and children of each sex. See A. Byrne,
Are Women Adult Human Females? 177 Philosophical
Studies 3783, 3786–3787 (2020). To use language to ob-
scure reality—to show “indifference regarding the truth”—
is to lie to the public and cease to treat our fellow citizens
“as equal[s].” J. Pieper, Abuse of Language—Abuse of
Power 17, 21 (1992).

@andersem.bsky.social Jun 2, 2026, 2:21 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

Hey, during my sabbatical I made a podcast! It’s a one-shot miniseries about what happened after the world’s most ambitious upzoning campaign won.

Here’s the trailer; episodes coming weekly all through June & July. You can subscribe on Apple/Spotify/etc.
rss.com/podcasts/yim...

rss.comYIMBY Country | Podcast on RSS.comIn 2021, the nation of New Zealand announced the YIMBY rapture.In the country's five largest cities, you would be allowed to build up to eight-story buildings anywhere within a 10-minute walk of mass ...

@rickhasen.bsky.social Jun 9, 2026, 12:19 AMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

What is to be done about Trump's bogus claims of election fraud in California?
www.ms.now/opinion/cali...

n the long term, California should still do what it can to speed up the vote count; that would help maintain confidence in elections. With enough resources thrown at the problem and commands from the Legislature, election officials can improve their ballot processing time. But serious progress is unlikely before November.

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

In response to charges of “voter fraud,” ordinary people can share media, such as the two-minute exchange between Trump and Welker, which show the emptiness of the president’s claims.

@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social Jun 4, 2026, 3:05 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

Brought to you by DOGE

George Pearkes@peark.esJun 4, 2026, 12:33 AM

Welp *USDA CONFIRMS DEADLY SCREWWORM IN US CATTLE

@sightline.org Jun 2, 2026, 6:26 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

A similar situation in Alaska yesterday: Sen. Robert Myers filed a letter of intent to run for another term, but never made it official. Rep. Frank Tomaszewski filed to run for Senate District Q shortly before Myers announced his retirement and endorsed Tomaszewski in a prepared statement.

Sightline Institute@sightline.orgMay 26, 2026, 4:38 PM

Here's how it went down: Kurt Alme put his name in the running for Senate 8 mins before the deadline. Moments later, sitting Sen. Steve Daines dropped out, and fired off an Alme endorsement alongside Trump. A simple law could prevent future backroom deals. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

sightline.orgHow to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline InstituteSen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.

adn.comCandidate slate finalized for Alaska’s statewide electionsFormer Gov. Bill Walker was among the last-minute entrants to a crowded race to succeed Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

@sightline.org Jun 1, 2026, 8:50 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

Tomorrow's primary election in Montana was shaped by a backroom deal. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

sightline.orgHow to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline InstituteSen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social May 27, 2026, 2:39 PM

Big & little highlights from my travel to OR + AK this month 😊 (As a born midwesterner I don't think the novelty of encountering a lizard in the wild will ever wear off.)

A lizard basking in the sun on a lichen and moss-covered rock

The powerfull Thunderbird Falls, north of Anchorage

A miniature pine cone in a small pool of water surrounded by ice

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social May 26, 2026, 7:52 PM

(Also proud of coining "drop-and-swap")

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social May 26, 2026, 6:32 PM

Whether Rep. García in Illinois or Sen. Daines in Montana, last-minute "drop-and-swap" manuevers deny voters a chance to pick from a competitive candidate field. I wrote about how Missouri makes such ploys impossible for @sightline.org: www.sightline.org/2026/05/26/h...

sightline.orgHow to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline InstituteSen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.

@sightline.org May 26, 2026, 4:38 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

Here's how it went down: Kurt Alme put his name in the running for Senate 8 mins before the deadline. Moments later, sitting Sen. Steve Daines dropped out, and fired off an Alme endorsement alongside Trump.

A simple law could prevent future backroom deals. @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

sightline.orgHow to Close Montana Primary Elections' 'Drop-and-Swap' Loophole | Sightline InstituteSen. Steve Daines gamed the system to all but hand-pick his successor. A Missouri-style deadline extension would prevent such backroom deals.

@sightline.org May 18, 2026, 9:12 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

Our housing team is hiring another part time contributor—this one in British Columbia! Help us advance our housing policy work in the province: www.sightline.org/british-colu...

sightline.orgBritish Columbia Housing + Cities Contributor | Sightline InstituteBritish Columbia Housing + Cities Contributor

@sightline.org May 7, 2026, 6:14 PMReposted by @alvanderklipp.bsky.social

#RankedChoiceVoting allows voters to express nuanced political opinions and back their favorite candidate without spoiling an election for their number two.

From @alvanderklipp.bsky.social & @jayleetx.com: Cross-partisan support on Alaska ballots is a feature, not a fluke.

sightline.orgFrom Peltola to Begich, Ranked Choice Voting Delivered What Alaskans Wanted | Sightline InstituteCross-party appeal elevated Alaska’s former and current US representatives.

@alvanderklipp.bsky.social May 7, 2026, 6:27 PM

Ranked choice voting elevates candidates who speak to the broadest swath of voters.

In the 2022 contests for AK's US House seat, that was Mary Peltola. In 2024, it was Nick Begich. It really is that simple.

New analysis of ballot data from myself and @jayleetx.com for @sightline.org below. ⬇️

Sightline Institute@sightline.orgMay 7, 2026, 6:14 PM

#RankedChoiceVoting allows voters to express nuanced political opinions and back their favorite candidate without spoiling an election for their number two. From @alvanderklipp.bsky.social & @jayleetx.com: Cross-partisan support on Alaska ballots is a feature, not a fluke.

sightline.orgFrom Peltola to Begich, Ranked Choice Voting Delivered What Alaskans Wanted | Sightline InstituteCross-party appeal elevated Alaska’s former and current US representatives.