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How to tackle populism: Rebuild rural civic life

Fergus Peace

November 02, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Nebraska

Access to civic institutions, such as local newspapers, arts facilities, churches, and even breweries, help people feel more connected to their communities and less inclined to support populist candidates. Rural areas suffering from a lack of strong civic institutions are experimenting with promoting local businesses, organizing town halls, and even designing town mascots.

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The Seattle Experiment

Kenny Malone

November 02, 2018 |

NPR |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle’s “Democracy Vouchers,” funded by a ballot measure to increase property taxes, provide money for residents to make campaign contributions, which increases civic participation and helps people running for office without political connections fund their campaigns. Every city resident receives four 25$ vouchers that they can sign over to the candidate of their choice and mail back in a pre-stamped envelope. Even though only 3% of vouchers were actually used, the number of people contributing to campaigns tripled and several non-establishment candidates were able to run campaigns and get elected.

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Law & Disorder: Progressive Prosecutors Hope to Dismantle Mass Incarceration

Manny Faces

October 30, 2018 |

News Beat |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Across the United States, individuals and organizations are seeking to shift the criminal justice system through District Attorney elections. From online communities like colorofchange.org, which seeks to support grassroots election efforts, to individuals like Minnesota’s Mark Haase, who is running on a platform of diversity and inclusion, to the Texas Organizing Project that wants to empower Black and Latinx communities, each of these missions seeks to create more equity and transparency in the criminal justice system.

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'A labor of love': Postcard campaign writers seek to increase voter turnout in midterm elections

Sylvie Sturm

October 30, 2018 |

Local News Matters |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

After lackluster experiences phone banking during the 2016 presidential election, volunteers altered their strategy to write postcards to citizens to turn out the vote in the 2018 mid-term elections. Writing postcards was seen as a viable, and personal, alternative to door knocking, phone banking, mass leafleting, and even relatively modern techniques like mass texting.

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How first-time voters are being mobilized in Florida

Mason Berger

October 29, 2018 |

PBS NewsHour |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Florida

Voter registration groups, such as Next Gen and the Florida Federation of Young Republicans, were the second most common method of getting new voters to register in Florida. To grab young voters, these organizations showed up in classrooms and club meetings and focused on issues that youth care about, including the cost of college and gun violence.

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How Sex Workers Made San Francisco Safer for Everyone

Hannah Albarazi

October 25, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

In San Francisco, a law that offers amnesty to sex workers who report violent crimes to police is designed to save lives and reduce crime overall in the city. It comes as the city’s police department faces a massive police sex scandal over officers abusing an underaged sex worker, something advocates say is all too common and leaves crimes women might report uninvestigated. Advocates applaud the new law, say it doesn’t go far enough and they worry new federal laws could undermine it.

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This Could Be The Most Progressive Country On Earth

Angela Cuming

October 24, 2018 |

The Huffington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: New Zealand, Wellington

In New Zealand politics, families, children, and the environment come first. Amidst the rise of right-wing populist governments, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stands out for her energy fighting for progressive values and positivity. Her track record already shows a raise in paid parental leave to 26 weeks, time off policy for victims of domestic violence, and a ban on new exploration of oil and gas. Though she admits change is slower than ideal, Ardern stands out for being a leader that voices the need for change and then acts on it.

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Australia Tells America: Here's How to Fix Your Voting System

Tacey Rychter

October 22, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia

Australia maintains a high voter turnout by making voting both easy and mandatory. Election day is always on a Saturday, and community groups host barbeques to mark the occasion. If an eligible voter still doesn’t cast a ballot, they can face a fine of up to nearly 80 Australian dollars.

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The Central Valley's Freedom Summer of empowering youth

Jennifer McNulty

October 21, 2018 |

Bay City News Foundation |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

25 students from two University of California schools went home to intern in the Central Valley for 3 months where they registered high school students to vote and taught them about civic engagement. Modeled after Freedom Summer, where students registered Mississippi voters in 1964, the Central Valley Freedom Summer project sought to increase the low turnout among young voters by teaching them the importance of civic engagement. The interns faced some resistance in the county, but were able to register or pre-register over 3000 young voters and hold events to get youth engaged in their communities.

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Reprogramming power: Audrey Tang is bringing hacker culture to the state

Anoush Darabi

October 18, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Taiwan

A community of technologists called g0v has produced open-source tools and redesigns of Taiwan’s public services. In collaboration with Digital Minister Audrey Tang, the group is helping citizens and civil society groups work with the government to improve services.

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