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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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Digital Platform Uses Peer Pressure To Motivate Young Adults To Vote In Election

Sylvie Sturm

October 21, 2018 |

Bay City News Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

VoteCrew is a digital messaging platform that brings together friends and acquaintances into online teams who pledge to vote and then are held accountable by their peers. The platform was created to increase voter turnout in people 35 and under by using peer pressure. The platform has 2,256 members in 308 teams across the country on about 30 college campuses. Preliminary results show its members voted at a higher rate than the demographic group more broadly, although it is too early to accurately evaluate its impact.

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Iowa Civility Workshop

Richard Davies Jim Meigs

October 18, 2018 |

How Do We Fix It? |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Des Moines, Iowa

At a time when American politics are more divisive and uncivil than ever before, Revive Civility Iowa and the National Institute of Civil Discourse hosted a two hour workshop to encourage civil conversation among politically opposed members of the same community. Using skill-building exercises like active listening, the workshop sought to engender tolerance in participants to reach resolutions. As one of the organizers pointed out, "The biggest mistake most of us make when we try to solve problems with others is we suggest they change their minds."

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Can a Group of Scrappy Young Activists Build Real Progressive Power in Trump Country?

Jimmy Tobias

October 18, 2018 |

The Nation (New York) |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Leaders from Lancaster Stands Up, an independent political organization, are bridging the gap between Democrats and Republicans in small, rural, conservative towns. They are building a progressive base by going back to the basics: door knocking and having conversations with voters. Their membership has grown to 800 people, and they’ve closed the gap between a progressive candidate and the Republican incumbent.

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Voter ID tied to lower Wisconsin turnout; students, people of color, elderly most affected

Cameron Smith

September 30, 2018 |

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wisconsin

Voter ID laws may reduce voter turnout, enough to change election results. For example, according to a UW-Madison study, thousands of people in Dane and Milwaukee counties did not vote in the 2016 presidential election because of confusion over new voter ID requirements or a lack of proper identification. Meanwhile, voter fraud, the justification for such voter ID laws, has been found to be a largely overblown fear by a federal judge.

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A Grassroots Call to Ban Gerrymandering

Erick Trickey

September 23, 2018 |

The Atlantic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Lansing, Michigan

In Michigan, a group of people decided they were done with gerrymandering: a political process in which district maps are redrawn to favor one party over another. They formed a group called “Voters Not Politicians,” and did what no one thought they would be able to do. “The crowdsourced campaign held 33 town-hall meetings in 33 days, wrote a ballot proposal to give redistricting powers to a citizens’ commission” and “collected 425,000 petition signatures in four months to secure a spot on Michigan’s ballot—a rare feat, usually accomplished only by hiring paid signature gatherers.”

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Kyrgyzstan wants transparency to curb corruption

Nicolas Zahn

September 11, 2018 |

GovInsider |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is using technology to tackle corruption and reduce costs. The country is centralizing and digitizing government services with help from Estonia. It is also using biometrics in elections to reduce the chances of rigged ballots and build public trust.

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Helping Tenants Register to Vote

Alex Braden

August 29, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Paul, Minnesota

Know how to register to vote? In St. Paul, your landlord is required to tell you. The city passed the ordinance to keep voter turnout high as the number of renters grew.

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Restoring Ex-Convicts' Voting Rights

Nina Sparling

August 29, 2018 |

WhoWhatWhy |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

A digital tool called Restore Your Vote launched in the summer of 2018 to help ex-convicts understand their voting restoration status after re-integrating into society. The initiative, which has been piloted in Alabama, aims to reduce disenfranchisement in ex-convict communities by targeting unclear language, misinformation, and lack of access to education.

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