HeyJaredJeffrey’s Substack
Written by a political scientist, this readable and well-researched blog features articles explaining the intricacies of American Democracy and exploring actionable answers to the threats facing it...because. democracy doesn't defend itself.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 12
- Latest publication
- Sep 23, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 14, 2026
Latest issues
The Massive Incumbency Advantage In American Elections (opens the original)
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Introduction: This is a three-part series on the competitiveness of American elections. This installment sets out the problem. Part two will examine some of the chief causes of the problem, and part three will suggest some of the things we can do about it.Democracy depends on competitive elections to select our public officials and, importantly, hold them responsive to public opinion when they seek reelection. Thus, electoral competition lies at the heart of our democratic system.Than
The Demise of Newspapers Affects Democracy (opens the original)
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For most of American history, the local newspaper was democracy’s town crier, giving people news of what local, state and national governments were up to, as well as covering international events, elections and carrying the advertising for what’s on sale at the local department store. The local newspapers(s) let people know who was running for local office and what they stood for and opined why the school board voted the way it did. It covered sports, fires, local gossip and the weather too. In
Tariffs and Democracy (opens the original)
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Since tariffs and the breakout of a global trade war precipitated by the Trump administration are dominating the conversation in many economic, political and journalistic circles, it raises the question of whether tariffs are strictly an economic issue or do they also affect democracy or at least how it is practiced in the current United States. The answer is certainly both and I’m going to focus on the latter for this essay.<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.
Fairness in U.S. Elections (opens the original)
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In a previously published essay for Democracy Decoded, I explored who should draw electoral districts, showing that different democracies balance competing values like accountability, impartiality and representation in wildly different ways. Yet redistricting is merely one component of a broader representative democratic system that includes elections which are “simply” the process wherein people choose their leaders.<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/imag
Grassroots Politics (opens the original)
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Angie Nixon’s surprise victory in the recent Florida Democratic primary election against a well-known opponent who outspent her at least sixteen to one reminded me anew that grassroots politics still works and still packs a powerful punch when wielded effectively.<source type="image/webp
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