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Douglas County woman strengthens democracy through ballot pickup service

Dominic Bhola

September 15, 2022 |

Nebraska News Service |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Nebraska

In Douglas County, Nebraska, a volunteer effort called Ballot Buddies collects sealed mail-in ballots from voters and delivers them to official Election Commission drop boxes. During the 2020 presidential election, vetted volunteers delivered hundreds of ballots at a time when the U.S. Postal Service was experiencing significant delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Behind the scenes of free and fair elections in New Jersey's Warren County

Jennie Aylward

September 15, 2022 |

CivicStory |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

To ensure election security, the Board of Elections in Warren County, New Jersey, provides oversight for every step of the voting process, from troubleshooting issues at polling sites on Election Day to reaching out to voters to help them "cure" mistakes made on mail-in ballots. Warren County has not had a recount since 2013, when it upheld the result of a primary election in which the candidates were separated by only 18 votes.

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How to Fix America's Confusing Voting System

Aliyya Swaby Annie Waldman

September 12, 2022 |

ProPublica |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Center for Civic Design helps states simplify ballot and registration forms to make their voting processes more accessible for people with low literacy, who are more likely to struggle with the complex language of most election materials. Such reforms have led to fewer ballots being rejected, including in New York, where a redesigned absentee ballot helped the number of rejected ballots drop from 22 percent to just 4 percent.

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Democracy Reform: Ranked-Choice Voting

Jim Meigs Richard Davies

August 26, 2022 |

How Do We Fix It? |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City is among more than 55 cities, states, and counties now using ranked-choice voting, which allows residents to select a second and third choice candidate rather than choosing just one. The method was used to elect Mayor Eric Adams, with 90 percent of voters ranking more than one option on the ballot and 70 percent of those polled reporting they found the system easy to use.

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Primary Turnout Surged in Wards 7 and 8. Mail-In Voting Is a Big Reason Why.

Alex Koma

August 23, 2022 |

Washington City Paper |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Following the expansion of mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington, D.C. mailed a ballot directly to every eligible voter in its 2022 primary election. The strategy is considered a crucial factor contributing to increased voter turnout in two of the city's poorest and most underserved wards, which saw their highest percentage of eligible voters casting ballots since the 2010 primary.

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Can computer simulations help fix democracy?

Harry Stevens

August 22, 2022 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ohio

Ohio is among 11 states where voters are challenging newly-drawn political maps using algorithmic redistricting, a process that produces thousands of simulations to help show which of the potential maps are outliers and may be the result of gerrymandering. Based on this algorithmic evidence, an Ohio court ordered the state's redistricting commission to go back to the drawing board and come up with a fairer map.

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TIRRC Votes harnesses "Black and brown political power"

Dulce Torres Guzman

August 15, 2022 |

Tennessee Lookout |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Tennessee

Ahead of Tennessee's August 2022 primary, organizations such as TIRRC (Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition) Votes and the Effendi Foundation targeted their outreach toward immigrant communities to increase turnout in key elections, resulting in wins for several TIRRC-endorsed candidates. The organizations relied on culturally-relevant strategies, including employing engagement coordinators from multiple countries, bringing candidates to speak at local mosques, and using community-specific language in written outreach.

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‘Better for democracy': Two US cities offer Arabic voting ballots

Ali Harb

August 03, 2022 |

Al Jazeera |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Michigan

Municipal officials in two southeast Michigan communities exercised their local governing power to bypass federal voting legislation that does not include Arab Americans among the "disenfranchised communities" with a right to receive election ballots in their first language. Through a city council resolution and collaboration among county officials, the Michigan Secretary of State, and Dominion Voting Systems, the cities offered Arabic ballots for the 2022 state primary, which is thought to be the first example of Arabic-language ballots being offered in a state-organized election in the United States.

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For the many or the few?

Jenna Spinelle

August 01, 2022 |

When the People Decide |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Florida

In Florida, formerly incarcerated people were at the forefront of efforts to rally support for a ballot initiative to allow residents with certain felony convictions back into the voting booth. Amendment 4 was successfully passed, restoring voting rights for many formerly incarcerated Floridians, and research studying other ballot initiatives in the United States has shown that these direct referendums have given the majority of the country's population policies that they approve of.

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Group seeks to turn Arizona's primaries into nonpartisan elections

Caitlin Schmidt

July 30, 2022 |

Arizona Daily Star |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

States such as Washington and California have nonpartisan "top-two" primaries, in which the top two vote getters move on to the general election regardless of their party affiliation. In Washington, voter turnout in primary elections has jumped from 18 percent in 2003, before the law went into effect, to nearly 55 percent in 2020.

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