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How to fix America's voter registration system so more people can vote

Jen Kirby

October 06, 2020 |

Vox |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Over a dozen states have adopted some variation of automatic voter registration, which is common in many European democracies. Voters in Oregon are mailed a notification when they are enrolled, which they can send back to opt out if they want. Prior to the 2016 election, 225,000 Oregonians were registered that way and 100,000 of those voted, a turnout rate of 43%. Some believe it is a more accurate way to maintain and update voter rolls. For voter data, states can use DMV and state tax records or join the over 30 states who are members of the nonprofit Electronic Registration Information Center.

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What a City-Sized Sharing Economy Looks Like

Lauren Kaljur

October 05, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada

The First Nation–Municipal Community Economic Development Initiative is a nationwide initiative to foster positive relationships, empowering First Nation and municipal leaders to talk as equals. There have been hundreds of requests and 15 pairs completed the program. The goal is to foster joint economic development, but it also initiated discussions about the impact of colonization and ensures First Nations are represented in decision-making. Pairs have cooperated on infrastructure projects, such as highway expansions and solar farms, and have a renewed sense of being connected.

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'A New Generation of Poll Workers' Steps Up to Ensure Safe, Fair Elections

Juhie Bhatia

October 01, 2020 |

Ms. Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

New groups are recruiting poll workers to help fill shortages made worse by Covid-19. Poll Hero Project is an initiative created and led by young people that has recruited over 28,000 high school and college-age poll workers using social media. Power the Polls is a coalition of well-known brands that used social media outreach, digital marketing, and celebrity promotions to sign up over 530,000 volunteers. Both groups help navigate what can be a complicated process to sign up to work the polls.

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Taiwan's Crowdsourced Democracy Shows Us How to Fix Social Media

Carl Miller

September 27, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Taiwan

vTaiwan is a mixed-reality, scaled listening exercise used by the government as a new way to make decisions. The platform provides an online space for citizens to debate and for politicians to listen to. The government lays out political questions, such as regulating Uber or changing time zones, and people can share their feelings, agree and disagree, but divisive statements and trolling are not posted. After debating for a period of time it became apparent that people converged around points of consensus. The government has implemented about a dozen laws and regulations based on the discussions.

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Old school still rules: Lee-Harvard's high census response rate could teach other neighborhoods a few tricks

Lee Chilcote Conor Morris

September 22, 2020 |

The Land |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

The high census completion rate in Lee-Harvard, as high as 70%, compared to Cleveland’s 50% as a whole, is the result of regular meetings, pre-pandemic, to educate residents of the benefits of the census and dispel common myths. After the pandemic, volunteers at the community center’s monthly food distribution provided census-related information. A group of retired women, called the Ward 1 Volunteer Navigators, also went door-to-door to make sure everyone got counted. Because many of the residents are long time homeowners, neighbor-to-neighbor relationships also led more residents to complete the census.

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How Did These Students Get The City To Change The Name Of Douglass Park? They Built Collective Power And Didn't Back Down

Pascal Sabino

September 22, 2020 |

Block Club Chicago |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago students organized and, for the first time, convinced the city to rename a park in honor of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. The former Douglas Park was named after a Civil War era Illinois senator who advocated to expand slavery, and whose wife owned slaves. Not daunted by the city’s bureaucracy, the students canvassed in their community and gathered over 10,000 signatures for a petition to change the park’s name. The campaign, which began in 2017, was much harder and longer than the students anticipated, but by forming a coalition and continuing to speak out they persevered.

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Citizens' assemblies are increasingly popular

The Economist

September 19, 2020 |

The Economist |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ireland

Citizens' assemblies have been used in a number of countries to give groups of ordinary people the chance to grapple with big, difficult problems and then recommend what actions their governments should take. Assemblies in Ireland led to referenda on subjects long considered intractable, same-sex marriage and abortion, leading to public approval of liberalized policies. As in France, the key to success is when politicians actually listen. By hearing from experts and giving a range of views space to be heard, citizens' assemblies can move people off extreme positions toward compromise.

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Can an Algorithm Help Solve Political Paralysis?

Julia Hotz

September 18, 2020 |

Scientific American |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Citizen assemblies bring together residents for in-depth discussions about solutions to social issues. This alternative form of democracy led to policy changes in many countries, including legalizing abortion in Ireland. In the UK, an algorithm was applied to form a 110-person “climate assembly.” In a multistage process, the algorithm selected a representative sample of the U.K.’s population, sometimes oversampling harder to reach groups to ensure inclusion. A small stipend was also offered to offset costs for people with lower incomes. The group submitted a final report with climate policy recommendations.

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How young poll workers may save Americans from Election Day chaos

Isaiah Murtaugh

September 16, 2020 |

USA Today |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Organizations ran campaigns to recruit young people to work as poll workers, addressing shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of high school and college students, as well as recent graduates, signed up to fill the gaps. Social media provided an effective recruitment tool, and the diverse coalition called Power to the Polls, that includes MTV, Uber, Starbucks, and others, got 400,000 people to sign up. Some coalition partners offer paid time off to their employees for working at polls and states, such as Georgia, offer poll worker compensation, which was a draw for young people.

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This revolutionary housing reform bill out of Portland would bring relief to tons of Philadelphians

Jessica Blatt Press

September 16, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Portland's new policy allowing for multi-family homes resulted from a long campaign of coalition building to address a need for middle-income housing that often gets overlooked in many cities. Although the Residential Infill Project will not take effect until August 2021, its enactment offers cities like Philadelphia lessons in strategic policymaking that overcomes entrenched views at opposite ends of the income and class spectrum, from property owners concerned about declining home values and advocates for low-income housing concerned about gentrification.

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