This weekend saw historic elections in Pakistan. Despite the violence in the run-up to the elections, which saw regular bomb blasts and the kidnapping of the son of a former Prime Minister, Saturday's vote marked the first time the country has transitioned from one democratically elected government to another. Arif Rafiq, the writer behind the Pakistan Policy Blog and president of Vizier Consulting, LLC, describes what kind of coalition might emerge from this vote.

The state’s Attorney General and Assembly Speaker have proposed an early voting system for New York that they say can improve voter participation and democracy. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman teamed up to press for New York to join 32 other states and allow early voting. 

Now that Texan demographics are changing, many are starting to wonder if the Lone Star State is headed back to blue. For the first time, big Democratic donors are starting to pour money into Texas in anticipation of it becoming a battleground state as early as the 2016 presidential election. One such donor is Steve Mostyn, a Texas trial lawyer and one of Barack Obama’s biggest financial supporters in 2012. 

Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, co-founder of South Africa’s Black Consciousness Movement with Steve Biko and founder of the first rural primary care clinic while banished by the Apartheid regime, eventually became the first black woman Vice Chancellor of a South African University, Managing Director of the World Bank, and successful businesswoman. She discusses the increasing anguish in South Africa over the failure of the ANC as a governing party to deliver on the promises of the liberation movement. Dr. Ramphele has announced her intentions to contest the next elections, portending a major realignment of South African politics. She's the author of Conversations with My Sons and Daughters.

The election season is heating up, with a full slate of Democrats and Republicans trying to raise as much cash as possible in advance of the primaries. WNYC reporter Anna Sale and Azi Paybarah, political reporter for Capital New York, talk about the latest developments. Plus: What the recent unrest in East Flatbush around the shooting of Kimani Gray says about the state of community relations and the Bloomberg policing legacy. WNYC's Stephen Nessen joins briefly from East Flatbush to describe the community's reactions. 

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When it comes to running elections, New York State ranks among the worst in the nation according to a new report released Tuesday from the Pew Charitable Trusts in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

We may think we know all about how we make decisions, but when it comes to political choices, they can hinge on a number of factors that we rarely notice. Brooke speaks with political psychologists and scientists to get to the bottom of why we make the choices we do at election time.

Vice presidential debates are often quickly forgotten, but tonight's matchup — featuring what one pundit calls "probably two of the most substantive vice presidential candidates we've ever had" — will likely be widely watched. Both men are steeped in policy but offer big contrasts in styles.

The last time he ran for re-election, President Hugo Chavez won comfortably in Petare, one of Latin America's biggest slums with nearly half a million people. This time around, as Venezuelans vote Sunday, he may not.

The verdict is in, and Mitt Romney has been declared the winner in last night's debate. Was it a case of style over substance?

A new online service wants to make voting as easy as renting a movie on Netflix. 

Some elected officials plan to use the coming weeks before the November elections to draw attention to problems at the voting booth.

Videos appearing to show Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney talking candidly with wealthy donors about Obama supporters have caused a stir in the campaigns. The videos have emerged after Romney's perceived stumbles on the campaign trail.

The Obama administration has filed a new trade complaint against China with the World Trade Organization, challenging Chinese subsidies for auto parts. Mitt Romney dismissed the trade complaint as "too little, too late." He's been criticizing Obama for not taking a tougher line against China.

Under orders from Congress, the administration detailed exactly how it would administer painful cuts to both defense and domestic programs that were ordered under last year's budget deal. But the Office of Management and Budget reiterates that the threat of cuts is meant to spur congressional action.

This Thursday is primary day for state offices. Republicans and Democrats have already chosen presidential nominees and congressional candidates — now they'll pick candidates for state legislative races. Listen to our analysis for race highlights and what to expect.

If you grew up in a bilingual Hispanic household, listening to the Democratic and Republican conventions may have sounded a lot like home. In this year's presidential election, Latinos are a major voting bloc — and Spanish is getting its close-up.

This is the time when most Americans start paying attention to the campaigns, but political reporters have been on the election beat for more than a year and, according to Politico's Dylan Byers, are just plain sick of it. Brooke Speaks to Dylan about why journalists can't wait for this election cycle to be over with.

Galaxie 500 - Summertime

The theme of the Democratic Convention has been "Forward." In accepting the party's nomination tonight, President Obama has to answer the question, "Forward to what?" And he may take a page from Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 renomination speech.