“From the standpoint of democracy, the results last night were reassuring. But in the long term, what really matters is that major political actors in Ohio and elsewhere have shown themselves willing to change the rules rather than lose an election. Particularly given the broader trend of voter suppression and democratic erosion in many states, this trend bodes very poorly for the functioning of our democratic system,” argue Vanessa Williamson and Itai Grofman.

The coup that ousted Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum in late July follows a string of similar military takeovers in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali. On a new episode of The Current, Landry Signé discusses the current situation in Niger and what it signals about democratic governance in Africa’s Sahel region.

Policy researchers and advocates have called on legislators to establish a new agency to regulate digital platforms, and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham recently proposed a bill to establish one such regulator. Mark MacCarthy explains why the United States needs an implementing and enforcing institution for digital duties and why a new federal agency tasked with overseeing digital platforms is the right approach.