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One Small Step for Democracy in a ‘Live Free or Die' Town

Dan Barry

July 10, 2022 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Croydon, New Hampshire

We Stand Up for Croydon Students formed as a backlash to severe school budget cuts that resulted from a lack of civic participation among residents. The nonpartisan group collected enough signatures to set a special meeting to overturn the budget and, to get at least 50% of the town’s residents to participate in order for a new vote to be binding, volunteers organized community members through door knocking, phone banks, and lawn signs.

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Hawaii's System Of Public Funding For Elections Doesn't Work

Chad Blair

July 10, 2022 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle’s Democracy Voucher is an effective, yet underutilized, way to publicly fund political campaigns. The city sends four $25 vouchers to each registered voter, who chooses which candidates they want to receive their vouchers, and the city transfers the funds directly to the campaigns. Since the program started the number of donors increased and many candidates who successfully defeated incumbents had benefited from the program.

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Lessons From Latin America

Salomé Gómez-Upegui

July 06, 2022 |

Atmos |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Colombia

In 2021, a wave of national demonstrations swept Colombia in protest of worsening economic conditions in the country and other impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the movements bolstered by uniting rhetoric about collective rights. Activists have since celebrated the election of the country's first climate-focused leftist government and the official decriminalization of abortion up to 24 weeks following a successful lawsuit spearheaded by organizers.

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Program aims to bring diversity from classrooms into courtrooms

Caitlin Schmidt

July 05, 2022 |

Arizona Daily Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

In an effort to diversify Arizona’s disproportionately white judiciary, legal professionals are volunteering in the state’s Legal Futures program to do outreach to high school and college students. The students spend face-to-face time with the professionals learning about career pathways and often leave with contact information to stay in touch.

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How Pennsylvania keeps its voter rolls clean and updated

Denise Clay-Murray

June 28, 2022 |

Votebeat |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania uses a comprehensive approach to maintain accurate voter roles. The state is a member of the Electronic Registration Information Center, which is a cross-state database that updates records of voters every 60 days based on interactions with the DMV. In addition, when a registered voter doesn’t vote in two consecutive federal election cycles, they are marked inactive and sent a request to confirm their residency. Those that do not respond with 30 days are removed from the rolls. All 67 counties are required to do annual maintenance of their voter rolls.

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Gen Z is influencing the abortion debate — from TikTok

Janay Kingsberry

June 28, 2022 |

The Washington Post |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Gen Z activists such as Olivia Julianna and Savannah Craven are using TikTok to spark discussions about abortion, driving conversations with short video snippets ranging from music videos to educational explainers about various political topics. Each creator has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and their content has attracted attention and offers of collaboration from significant political players such as Gen Z for Change and Candace Owens.

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A study in contrasts: Low-turnout runoffs vs. Alaska's top-four, all-mail primary

David Meyers

June 23, 2022 |

The Fulcrum |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

Alaska’s first primary election since it instituted a “top four” election system that places all candidates – regardless of party –on the same primary ballot, resulted in a less partisan campaign because people have to appeal to a more diverse group than their base in order to win. The all-mail primary also led to higher voter turnout, the highest since 2014.

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Residents 13 and up get another pick of city projects to receive funding

Ted Glanzer

June 20, 2022 |

Hartford Courant |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford residents 13 and older can decide how some public funds are spent. The Hartford Decides participatory budgeting initiative considers public input on small capital projects that cost between $10,000 and $25,000 and have a useful life of at least five years. City officials vet the projects for feasibility and those that pass are put on a ballot for the public to vote on. Previous winning projects include improvements to libraries, schools, and other publicly accessible resources. Residents can vote online or in-person and, depending on available funding, two to four projects can win approval.

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D.C. Residents Are Voting from Prison This Week

Kira Lerner

June 20, 2022 |

Bolts |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, District of Columbia

In July 2020, the District became one of three places in the country to grant people who are incarcerated the right to vote. Officials have conducted outreach to people in DC jails to make sure the are aware of their rights and the Board of Elections has provided staff with information and documents they need to ensure people can register to vote.

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Public Art Project Is Reimagining Philly's Budget, One Poster at a Time

Connie Aitcheson

June 17, 2022 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“A People’s Budget,” produced by Mural Arts Philadelphia, uses art to engage residents in reimagining how the city spends public funds. In addition to public art installations, the group holds teach-ins, organizes gatherings, and brought together local artists to research different sections of the budget and create 30-plus posters, in English and Spanish, that are handed out at events and other public spaces. The group has increased awareness, sparked important conversations about participatory budgeting, and brought together residents to collaborate for change.

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