IGS in the News

This week the Institute of Governmental Studies will be completing another of its periodic polls of the California public about major political and public policy issues facing the state. It is a legitimate non-partisan poll sponsored by the University that is carried out by distributing email invitations to a carefully constructed random sample of the state’s registered voters. Data collection will continue through Monday, August 15. Learn more here.

KQED Forum's Mina Kim interviews IGS co-director Eric Schickler and others on "What Would Your Ideal Third Party Stand For?" to discuss the potential and pitfalls of third-parties in our current electoral system. To hear his thoughts and the full podcast, click here

Co-Director Eric Schickler's book, "Racial Realignment: The Transformation of American Liberalism, 1932–1965", was included in a New York Times Interpreter Newsletter that featured a short list of books that articulate and explain the ideological shifts in the Democratic Party over the last 60 years.

Jeff Charles writes, “We just got a taste of what the 2024 presidential race might look like, and it could be shaping up to be a matchup for the ages… Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Unfortunately for California's governor, the data shows that picking a fight with DeSantis might not exactly be the best use of this time.

This week the Institute of Governmental Studies will be completing another of its periodic polls of the California public about major political and public policy issues facing the state. It is a legitimate non-partisan poll sponsored by the University that is carried out by distributing email invitations to a carefully constructed random sample of the state’s registered voters. Data collection will continue through May 31. Learn more here.

Eric Schickler, a political science professor at the University of California Berkeley and author of books about legislative politics in Congress, said there wasn’t enough support – among Democrats.

“Up until recently, even the Democrats had a pretty decent sized faction of members who were pro-life or at least not fully on board with a kind of pro-choice agenda,” he said. To read the full article, click here. 

Forbes Breaking News covered the livestream where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke with former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) during a lecture series at UC Berkeley on Monday. Click here to watch the livestream on YouTube.

Tax Day...is a reminder of the staggering divide between California’s haves and have-nots, which the state’s progressive tax structure brings out in stark relief: In 2019, the fewer than 100,000 Californians who earned at least $1 million paid about 40% of the state’s personal income taxes, according to data obtained by The Los Angeles Times.

To read the entire article, click here. 

On Wednesday, April 6th, the IGS held a conversation with Dionne and Rapoport, moderated by UC Berkeley political science professor Paul Pierson, about the 100% Democracy, universal voting, and how it might be implemented. This event was covered in a column in the LA times, which shared and discussed the question- What if every American was required, by law to vote? "The idea is to make people work a little harder at being a good citizen and force politicians to quit dividing to conquer. That's got my vote", wrote Mark Z.