NedFoley.bsky.social
@nedfoley.bsky.social
Election law professor, proponent of "Common Ground Democracy: https://edwardbfoley.substack.com. Author of Ballot Ballots: The History of Disputed Elections in the United States (rev. ed. forthcoming 2024); Presidential Elections and Majority Rule (2020).
Pinned
"The Real Preference of the Voters": Madison’s Idea of a Top-Three Election and The Present Necessity of Reform #ELB
I have posted this new paper on SSRN. It will be published in the Wisconsin Law Review as part of a symposium held last September. The paper focuses on an 1823 letter written by James Madison, the sig...
electionlawblog.org
I've posted "'The Real Preference of the Voters': Madison's Idea of a Top-Three Election and The Present Necessity of Reform" (forthcoming Wisc L Rev), discussing a letter written by Madison the significance of which has not been previously appreciated. electionlawblog.org?p=148176
Condorcet Voting and the Cornyn-Paxton Race edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/condorcet-...
Condorcet Voting and the Cornyn-Paxton Race
The upcoming U.S. Senate election in Texas perfectly illustrates the importance of this voting reform.
edwardbfoley.substack.com
July 24, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Condorcet Voting and the Cornyn-Paxton Race edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/condorcet-...
A cleaner, edited version of this paper is now available on SSRN; in reading it over, I think it's one of my more significant contributions, especially suited to this most difficult moment for American democracy: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
“The Real Preference of Voters”: Madison’s Idea of a Top-Three Election and The Present Necessity of Reform
<p><span><span> </span>Madisonian democracy, as James Madison himself propounded it and as it has subsequently become to be practiced in the United States, has
papers.ssrn.com
March 11, 2025 at 5:29 PM
A cleaner, edited version of this paper is now available on SSRN; in reading it over, I think it's one of my more significant contributions, especially suited to this most difficult moment for American democracy: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Just in time for March Madness: Bracket Voting open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
Bracket Voting
Elections Should Be Structured Like Familiar Sports Tournaments
open.substack.com
March 9, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Just in time for March Madness: Bracket Voting open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
The Senate Has Surrendered Its Constitutional Responsibilities. But there is an electoral reform remedy that will restore the Senate to its appropriate role in checking presidential despotism: open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
The Senate Has Surrendered Its Constitutional Responsibilities
If Senators were elected using Condorcet-based voting methods, they would be able to perform their constitutional duty to thwart presidential despotism.
open.substack.com
February 14, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The Senate Has Surrendered Its Constitutional Responsibilities. But there is an electoral reform remedy that will restore the Senate to its appropriate role in checking presidential despotism: open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
Everyone concerned about the rule of law in the US right now should read this by @debpearlstein.bsky.social: The Law Is Not Fully Trump’s Yet www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/o...
Opinion | The Law Is Not Fully Trump’s Yet
The legal system is not so easily dismissed.
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Everyone concerned about the rule of law in the US right now should read this by @debpearlstein.bsky.social: The Law Is Not Fully Trump’s Yet www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/o...
Keep Condorcet in Consideration as an Electoral Reform Option: It’s wrong to argue that Condorcet Voting should be rejected entirely and everywhere.
edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/keep-condo...
edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/keep-condo...
Keep Condorcet in Consideration as an Electoral Reform Option
It’s wrong to argue that Condorcet Voting should be rejected entirely and everywhere.
edwardbfoley.substack.com
January 26, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Keep Condorcet in Consideration as an Electoral Reform Option: It’s wrong to argue that Condorcet Voting should be rejected entirely and everywhere.
edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/keep-condo...
edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/keep-condo...
More evidence that nation’s Madisonian system, with its separation of powers, is in trouble: substack.com/@nedfoley/no...
Edward B. Foley on Substack
More evidence that nation’s Madisonian system, with its separation of powers, is in trouble: Rachel Bade’s new Corridors column for POLITICO, in which she quotes a “Trump insider” referring to Republi...
substack.com
January 22, 2025 at 2:34 PM
More evidence that nation’s Madisonian system, with its separation of powers, is in trouble: substack.com/@nedfoley/no...
Don’t Treat Trump as a Condorcet Winner. Post-inauguration, there continue to be misunderstandings of the election. edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/dont-treat...
Don’t Treat Trump as a Condorcet Winner
Post-inauguration, there continue to be misunderstandings of the election.
edwardbfoley.substack.com
January 21, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Don’t Treat Trump as a Condorcet Winner. Post-inauguration, there continue to be misunderstandings of the election. edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/dont-treat...
Some thoughts on the current condition of Madisonian democracy that some might find useful as part of an effort to understand how the country arrived to where it is today: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... (long version) & edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/the-real-p... (short version)
“The Real Preference of Voters”: Madison’s Idea of a Top-Three Election and The Present Necessity of Reform
Madisonian democracy, as James Madison himself propounded it and as it has subsequently become to be practiced in the United States, has been viewed as differen
papers.ssrn.com
January 21, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Some thoughts on the current condition of Madisonian democracy that some might find useful as part of an effort to understand how the country arrived to where it is today: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... (long version) & edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/the-real-p... (short version)
Did America's electorate vote for taking back the Panama Canal? To understand why our two-party electoral system leads to misinterpreting the extent of the mandate from a popular vote victory, here's an explanation: electionlawblog.org?p=148245
Should We Be Saying “President Haley”? #ELB
Democracy: A Journal of Ideas published this piece that I wrote on the failure of the electoral system to produce an outcome corresponding to “the real preference of the Voters” (Madison’s term for wh...
electionlawblog.org
January 20, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Did America's electorate vote for taking back the Panama Canal? To understand why our two-party electoral system leads to misinterpreting the extent of the mandate from a popular vote victory, here's an explanation: electionlawblog.org?p=148245
"Should We Be Saying 'President Haley'?" The correct way to understand Trump’s popular vote victory is to understand that it represents a mandate to the extent, but only to the extent, that Nikki Haley would be pursuing the same agenda. This piece explains why: open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
Should We Be Saying “President Haley”?
It’s very likely that the former South Carolina governor was more popular than Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. But our system won’t recognize it.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM
"Should We Be Saying 'President Haley'?" The correct way to understand Trump’s popular vote victory is to understand that it represents a mandate to the extent, but only to the extent, that Nikki Haley would be pursuing the same agenda. This piece explains why: open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
Should We Be Saying “President Haley”? electionlawblog.org?p=148245
Should We Be Saying “President Haley”? #ELB
Democracy: A Journal of Ideas published this piece that I wrote on the failure of the electoral system to produce an outcome corresponding to “the real preference of the Voters” (Madison’s term for wh...
electionlawblog.org
January 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Should We Be Saying “President Haley”? electionlawblog.org?p=148245
democracyjournal.org/arguments/sh... If our electoral system worked, we’d be inaugurating President Haley.
Should We Be Saying "President Haley"?
It’s very likely that the former South Carolina governor was more popular than Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. But our system won’t recognize it.
democracyjournal.org
January 18, 2025 at 3:56 PM
democracyjournal.org/arguments/sh... If our electoral system worked, we’d be inaugurating President Haley.
“The Real Preference of the Voters”: in this essay I discuss Madison's letter that's essential to understand if we are to repair our currently broken Madisonian democracy. Discovering the significance of this letter has been gratifying scholarly work. open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
“The Real Preference of the Voters”
James Madison wrote a letter in 1823, the significance of which for electoral reform has been previously overlooked.
open.substack.com
January 16, 2025 at 2:59 PM
“The Real Preference of the Voters”: in this essay I discuss Madison's letter that's essential to understand if we are to repair our currently broken Madisonian democracy. Discovering the significance of this letter has been gratifying scholarly work. open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
I've posted "'The Real Preference of the Voters': Madison's Idea of a Top-Three Election and The Present Necessity of Reform" (forthcoming Wisc L Rev), discussing a letter written by Madison the significance of which has not been previously appreciated. electionlawblog.org?p=148176
"The Real Preference of the Voters": Madison’s Idea of a Top-Three Election and The Present Necessity of Reform #ELB
I have posted this new paper on SSRN. It will be published in the Wisconsin Law Review as part of a symposium held last September. The paper focuses on an 1823 letter written by James Madison, the sig...
electionlawblog.org
January 15, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I've posted "'The Real Preference of the Voters': Madison's Idea of a Top-Three Election and The Present Necessity of Reform" (forthcoming Wisc L Rev), discussing a letter written by Madison the significance of which has not been previously appreciated. electionlawblog.org?p=148176
Is PR the panacea? electionlawblog.org?p=148151
Is PR the panacea? #ELB
The New York Times has a big piece posted this morning by Jesse Wegman and Lee Drutman advocating for using proportional representation (PR) to elect members of the federal House of Representatives (a...
electionlawblog.org
January 14, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Is PR the panacea? electionlawblog.org?p=148151
I've really enjoyed my year so far as a Crane Fellow in Law & Public Policy at Princeton. Can't believe the first semester is over already. I encourage others to apply for this fellowship for lots of reasons (too many to list; Princeton is great). Deadline 1/1: plaw.law.princeton.edu/opportunitie...
Crane Fellowship in Law and Public Policy
plaw.law.princeton.edu
December 18, 2024 at 3:40 PM
I've really enjoyed my year so far as a Crane Fellow in Law & Public Policy at Princeton. Can't believe the first semester is over already. I encourage others to apply for this fellowship for lots of reasons (too many to list; Princeton is great). Deadline 1/1: plaw.law.princeton.edu/opportunitie...
Really looking forward to this event tomorrow, and the book it discusses, which has been 3+ years in the making (it's possible to participate both online and in person): www.aei.org/events/elect...
www.aei.org
December 9, 2024 at 2:37 PM
Really looking forward to this event tomorrow, and the book it discusses, which has been 3+ years in the making (it's possible to participate both online and in person): www.aei.org/events/elect...
Just received the advance copy of the book that we will be discussing on Tuesday; details here: www.aei.org/events/elect...
December 6, 2024 at 6:58 PM
Just received the advance copy of the book that we will be discussing on Tuesday; details here: www.aei.org/events/elect...
Book event in DC & online: “Electoral Reform in the United States: Proposals for Combating Polarization and Extremism” electionlawblog.org?p=147499
November 25, 2024 at 9:29 PM
Book event in DC & online: “Electoral Reform in the United States: Proposals for Combating Polarization and Extremism” electionlawblog.org?p=147499
A new Common Ground Democracy essay: Trump's Nominees Confirm the Need for Electoral Reform. open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
Trump’s Nominees Confirm the Need for Electoral Reform
If you don’t immediately see the connection, here’s why.
open.substack.com
November 21, 2024 at 1:50 PM
A new Common Ground Democracy essay: Trump's Nominees Confirm the Need for Electoral Reform. open.substack.com/pub/edwardbf...
Reposted by NedFoley.bsky.social
Boom. I think this is final from #Alaska. #RankedChoiceVoting survives by 664 votes. Still unofficial, but now a big enough margin that it seems likely to survive. #RCV
www.elections.alaska.gov/results/24GE...
www.elections.alaska.gov/results/24GE...
November 21, 2024 at 2:25 AM
Boom. I think this is final from #Alaska. #RankedChoiceVoting survives by 664 votes. Still unofficial, but now a big enough margin that it seems likely to survive. #RCV
www.elections.alaska.gov/results/24GE...
www.elections.alaska.gov/results/24GE...
Everyone interested in improving democracy in the US should spread the word about this important electoral reform effort underway in Arizona: edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/arizonas-e...
March 14, 2024 at 3:03 PM
Everyone interested in improving democracy in the US should spread the word about this important electoral reform effort underway in Arizona: edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/arizonas-e...
Happy President's Day! Just in time for the holiday, I've written a new Common Ground Democracy essay applying the idea of a Top-3 electoral system (developed initially with Eric Maskin in the context of congressional elections) to presidential elections:
edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/a-top-3-pr...
edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/a-top-3-pr...
A Top-3 Presidential Election System
This way of voting would enable Americans to elect a third-party or independent candidate whom a majority prefer to either of the two major-party nominees.
edwardbfoley.substack.com
February 19, 2024 at 3:58 PM
Happy President's Day! Just in time for the holiday, I've written a new Common Ground Democracy essay applying the idea of a Top-3 electoral system (developed initially with Eric Maskin in the context of congressional elections) to presidential elections:
edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/a-top-3-pr...
edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/a-top-3-pr...
Here's a cure for the dysfunctional Congress, which is incapable of legislating on behalf of the public because the voting system used to elect its members produces hyper-polarization rather than accurate representation of the electorate's preferences: edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/a-top-thre...
A “Top Three” Version of California’s “Top Two” Elections
To combat polarization and increase the capacity of Congress to enact legislation addressing the nation’s needs, here’s a proposal worth considering.
edwardbfoley.substack.com
February 12, 2024 at 12:40 AM
Here's a cure for the dysfunctional Congress, which is incapable of legislating on behalf of the public because the voting system used to elect its members produces hyper-polarization rather than accurate representation of the electorate's preferences: edwardbfoley.substack.com/p/a-top-thre...