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Could Ranked Choice Voting Work in D.C.?

Will Warren

November 02, 2020 |

Washington City Paper |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

In ranked choice voting voters rank all candidates in order of preference so that if no candidate wins a majority, a second round of counting eliminates candidates with the fewest votes and allots voters’ second choices towards the top vote getters. The process repeats until a candidate wins a majority. Since candidates benefit from being a voter’s second choice, they have an incentive to reach out to and appeal to a broader range of voters. Maine and Takoma Park, DC are models of its effective, and DC is considering a broader implementation. Some local Virginia districts will use ranked choice in 2021.

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Here's how officials are keeping votes secure on Election Day

Guillermo Molero

November 02, 2020 |

The Daily Tar Heel |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, North Carolina

North Carolina takes a multipronged approach to election security. Unique serial numbers on mail-in ballots allow the voter to be removed from the system once they are processed. Hundreds of thousands of test ballots are run through voting machines and audited for accuracy. Polling sites are observed by bipartisan poll watchers and trained officials and voting machines are never connected to the internet. Paper receipts are securely stored in case of a recount or audit. Results are stored on encrypted data sticks and locked in high-security facilities operated by state and county boards of elections.

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How can Georgia make it easier to vote?

Allison Salerno

November 01, 2020 |

Atlanta Journal-Constitution |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Some locations, such as North Carolina and the extremely populous Harris County, Texas, have enacted solutions that make voting easier and take less time. In addition to early voting running up until election day, the North Carolina Board of Election issued an emergency order requiring one polling site per 20,000 registered voters. Harris County, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, expanded the early voting period and offers “drive-thru voting” at 10 locations using portable voting machines. The county also had over 100 locations that were open for 24 consecutive hours.

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In Michigan, Undocumented Immigrants Form Learning Pod So They Won't Lose Their Jobs

Michelle Jokisch Polo

November 01, 2020 |

NPR |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Undocumented parents face unique challenges to pandemic learning. Some don’t speak English or might not have access to Wi-Fi. To help, an activist in Michigan created an in-person learning hub for students of undocumented families in grades K thru 12. The hub was hosted in a church and provided 24 students with computers from the district, and support from teachers and tutors. The hub was funded through donations from the community.

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Speaking their language: How NOLA advocates connected Spanish speakers to healthcare during the pandemic

Marie Elizabeth Oliver

October 30, 2020 |

The Current (Louisiana) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

The coronavirus pandemic has caused many healthcare practice to move to a virtual space, but for Spanish-speaking communities, telehealth wasn't a solution on its own. In New Orleans, interpreters, doctors, and patients are working together to coordinate care at one clinic, while another clinic has used personalized text messages in Spanish to stay in communicaiton with patients.

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SLO County child care is hard to find and even harder to afford. Here's how to fix it

Kaytlyn Leslie

October 30, 2020 |

San Luis Obispo Tribune |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Luis Obispo, California

Affordable childcare options are far and few between in San Luis Obispo but one effective solution has been the result of businesses subsidizing child care. Onsite daycare centers are available to employees at discounted rates and child-care workers are considered employees which gives them access to benefits. The important perk keeps turnover low - a common issue in the industry.

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Joe Biden Should Stop Bragging About the Violence Against Women Act

Elizabeth Nolan Brown

October 29, 2020 |

Reason |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Violence Against Women Act was billed as a way to make a patriarchal society, and policing profession in particular, take domestic violence more seriously. It encouraged policies making arrest of alleged abusers mandatory, even to the point of punishing victims who refused to cooperate in prosecutions. This has backfired on many victims, especially women of color who distrust police and their punitive approaches to solving family problems. The law also prioritizes punitive approaches in its awarding of federal grants, thus denying victim aid to women who do not wish to cooperate with arrests.

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Managing scarcity

Emma Athena

October 29, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder, Colorado

In Boulder, Colorado those working to address the increasing rate of homelessness are reallocating resources to support longterm housing options as opposed to the traditional temporary services – such as shelters. Although there are challenges to this approach and it's too early to gauge the longterm reality of this approach, early results from the method have shown that consolidating resources has reduced operational costs while housing over 450 people.

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A new era in maritime travel: Electric boats

Justin Sondel

October 29, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Niagara Falls, New York

The Maid of the Mist has given tours of Niagara Falls for 174 years, and recently replaced its fleet with electric catamarans, the first of their kind in North America. The boats are zero-emission and run on dual banks of lithium-ion batteries that are recharged between each tour by plugging two high-voltage lines into a charging station for seven minutes. The charging station is powered by a nearby hydroelectric facility. Two joysticks, like those on an arcade game, allow captains to steer the boats and dual monitors in the wheelhouse provide detailed battery status reports for constant monitoring.

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S.D. election officials take new approaches to voting amid pandemic

Bart Pfankuch Nick Lowrey

October 28, 2020 |

South Dakota News Watch |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, South Dakota

Some officials took steps to make registration and voting easier and safe during the coronavirus pandemic. After issues during the primary, many counties enlisted additional staff and expanded infrastructure to process mail-in ballots. Recruitment initiatives in high schools helped replace higher-risk senior poll workers. County auditors helped assisted-living residents vote by validating their identities through a glass barrier and working with staff to safely deliver ballots. Several satellite polling locations were set up, including adjacent to tribal nations, to increase access to voting.

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