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Without the protections of the Voting Rights Act, many look to state solutions

Frances Nguyen

April 18, 2022 |

Prism |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Virginia

Virginia’s VRA protects voters from suppression, discrimination, and intimidation and has effectively stopped racial gerrymandering and intimidation. Its pro-voting measures include requiring materials in multiple languages, the provision of accessibility accommodations, and requiring public review of any local level voting changes. The legislation also creates a pathway for Virginians to bring civil lawsuits if a procedure negatively impacts economically disadvantaged communities or communities of color.

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Shiny new ballots: Record number of states eyeing ranked-choice voting

Amanda Pampuro

March 25, 2022 |

Courthouse News Service |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

More states and cities are adopting ranked-choice voting system, which are said to be friendlier and more inclusive. In a ranked-choice system, voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference and a winner must get over 50% of the votes. This often occurs by being a voter’s second choice, so many argue there is less political vitriol since, rather than ignoring voters committed to other candidates, politicians must appeal to them as at least their second choice. Data in the six California cities that use the system show slight increases in the number of women and people of color running for office.

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Democracy Comes to Michigan

David Byrne

March 21, 2022 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Michigan

A grassroots campaign ended gerrymandering in Michigan by passing an initiative requiring districts be drawn by citizen-commissions rather than politicians. The all-volunteer campaign went door-to-door collecting enough signatures to get the initiative on the ballot and used creative voter-engagement techniques to sustain the support. Once the ballot initiative passed, 9,300 people applied for the first commission. A third-party firm ultimately selected four Democrats, four Republicans, and five non-partisan people as commissioners, who worked together very well to redraw districts.

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Good Talk

Jennifer Miller

March 16, 2022 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania created a Civil Dialogue Seminar to teach students how to communicate across political divides. The seminar, which is part of a growing civil dialogue movement taking place among Gen Z, includes social psychology curriculum to help students navigate difficult conversations with people they disagree with. Students participate in the Red and Blue Exchange, small group conversations about controversial topics, where they practice having conversations about issues that elicit strong responses. Students also investigate their own emotional responses with weekly journal reflections.

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How progressives are winning over the rural voters Democrats abandoned

Jaisal Noor

March 08, 2022 |

The Real News Network |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Stands Up has effectively built support for progressive causes in rural areas using deep canvassing techniques, which emphasize active listening and asking non-judgemental questions instead of political sloganeering.

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Despite Hurdles, Automatic Voter Registration Law Adds to Voter Rolls

Amanda Vinicky

February 23, 2022 |

WTTW-PBS |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Illinois

Illinois’ 2018 automatic voter registration law resulted in 111,000 additional voter registration applications. Under the automatic system, eligible voters are automatically registered to vote with their most up-to-date address and information every time they interact with state agencies, like the DMV. Each time there is a new interaction with a state agency, voter rolls are updated and individuals who don’t want to be registered can proactively opt-out.

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The Town That QAnon Nearly Swallowed

Sasha Abramsky

February 07, 2022 |

The Nation (New York) |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Sequim, Washington

The Sequim Good Governance League (SGGL) formed in response to right-wing agitators taking over positions of power and spreading misinformation. SGGL recruited progressive and moderately conservative candidates who successfully defeated incumbents with the help of dozens of volunteers they trained. Volunteers worked around the clock, sent out emails, put up signs around the town, and used their most effective tool: having one-on-one conversations with other residents. SGGL-backed candidates now hold the majority of government offices.

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Climate change activists look to increase voter turnout in 2022 and beyond

Ben Adler

January 28, 2022 |

Yahoo! News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Environmental Voter Project (EVP) is a nonpartisan nonprofit working to increase voter turnout among irregular voters who care about the environment. The EVP has 6,000 volunteers who contact infrequent voters in 17 states via text, phone, postcards, and door-knocking. Volunteers identify would-be voters who care about the environment but don’t actually talk about the environment. Instead, their goal is to engage voters and get them to vote regardless of whether anything related to environmental regulation is on the ballot. EVP uses peer-pressure and sends many reminders to get people to the polls.

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More voters, less party affiliation 2 years into automatic voter registration

Sean Golonka

January 16, 2022 |

The Nevada Independent |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Nevada

Nevada’s automatic voter registration (AVR) system has added over 320,000 new voters since its launch in 2020, expanding access to many. Unless they opt out, the AVR system automatically registers eligible voters, or updates their voter information, whenever they complete a transaction with the DMV. Since they are registered as nonpartisan by default, it has diversified the state’s voter pool. Officials still perform checks and balance to keep voter rolls clean, including the Electronic Registration Information Center that compares voter registration data between states to identify out-of-date records.

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'Indigenous DNA': Native voters help turn Arizona blue, led by grassroots workers

Shondiin Silversmith

November 30, 2021 |

AZ Central (The Arizona Republic) |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

Indigenous communities across Arizona organized grassroots efforts to register Native voters and increase voter turnout in 2020. Members of indigenous communities were able to move on-the-ground efforts forward in a way that outside organizations could not. While just 6% of the state’s voting population identifies as Native American, President Biden won by just 10,000 votes, making the larger turnout across Native nations more relevant. Efforts involved going door-to-door and setting up information booths in central areas and voters responded to canvassers taking the time to talk with people.

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