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Jay Lee

Jay Lee is a Researcher with Sightline Institute, where he supports his colleagues with quantitative analysis, researches regional demographic trends, and investigates climate change-related migration into and across Cascadia.

Prior to joining Sightline, Jay worked in election policy research, survey administration, election results reporting, and data analysis and visualization. He holds a BA in mathematics from Reed College.

In his personal life, Jay enjoys riding his bike around town, playing squash, and crushing it at trivia night. After several years in Portland, Oregon, he now lives in New York City. Email him at jay@sightline.org, and follow him on Bluesky or LinkedIn.

Al Vanderklipp

Al Vanderklipp

Latest articles

From Peltola to Begich, Ranked Choice Voting Delivered What Alaskans Wanted

Cross-party appeal elevated Alaska’s former and current US representatives.
Cross-party appeal elevated Alaska’s former and current US representatives.
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Seattle’s No-Cost Emissions Cut

The climate benefits of urban neighborhoods, all for the low price of letting people live where they want. 
The climate benefits of urban neighborhoods, all for the low price of letting people live where they want. 
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Republicans Skeptical, Democrats Divided on Election Reform

Takeaways Find audio versions of Sightline articles on any of your favorite podcast platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, and Apple. In ...
Understanding the partisan split on nonpartisan electoral upgrades.
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Portland Election Delivers City’s Most Representative Council Ever

Proportional ranked choice voting lived up to the promises of the voter-approved charter reform.
Proportional ranked choice voting lived up to the promises of the voter-approved charter reform.
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Idaho Has a Spoiler Problem

Takeaways Janice McGeachin’s four years as Idaho’s lieutenant governor were fraught with controversy. In what Governor Brad Little called an ...
Closed primaries exclude voters, encourage divisive behavior, and can subvert the will of Idahoans.
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Montana’s Plurality Problem

Takeaways As in most elections, Montanans have a lot of important priorities to consider this November. One contest in particular, ...
Political gamesmanship and the spoiler effect prevent majority winners in some of the Treasure State’s most impactful elections.
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Despite Candidate Dropouts, Alaska Elections Are Becoming More Competitive

A dozen candidates removed themselves from 2024’s general election, but voters still have plenty to choose from.
A dozen candidates removed themselves from 2024’s general election, but voters still have plenty to choose from.
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A Guide to Alaska’s November 2024 Election

Authors’ note: We’ll be updating this FAQ regularly with new information and additional questions we hear from readers. We invite ...
Ranked choice voting for president and other offices, plus deciding on whether to keep open primaries and ranked choice voting.
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What Oregonians Need to Know About Ranked Choice Voting

Author’s note: In early 2023, I wrote about Oregon House Bill 2004, which let voters decide whether to adopt ranked choice ...
Mitigating spoiler candidates and other upsides for Beaver State elections.
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Mirroring the Nation, Voter Turnout Dropped in Alaska’s 2022 Election

Takeaways Find audio versions of Sightline articles on any of your favorite podcast platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, and Apple. In ...
How a democracy data analyst assesses changes in voter turnout.
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‘Majority Rules’ Brings Election Reform to the Big Screen

Last month, I caught the new feature-length documentary Majority Rules at its theatrical release in New York City’s East Village. 
The documentary digs into Alaska’s 2022 launch of open primaries and ranked choice voting—and how the changes shook up the status quo.
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Voter participation jumped when Alaska opened its primaries

Takeaways Low voter turnout in primary elections is the default across the country, but Republicans, Democrats, independents, and third-party voters ...
2022 turnout for every candidate contest reached a decade high.
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