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Citizens' Assemblies let everyday people make important city decisions. Let's bring them to Philly.

Jessica Blatt Press

October 19, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Citizens' assemblies, where a randomly selected representative sample of people work together to make decisions and find policy solutions to social issues, is an effective approach to decision-making that bridges polarization. It also minimizes the influence of special interests in decision making. America In One Room gathered 500 people in Texas to address topics such as immigration and healthcare, among others, and it showed that people tend to find common ground after deliberative discussions. Citizens’ assemblies have successfully informed policy decisions in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France.

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Latinos hold almost half of all elected positions in Fresno County. Here's how they made gains

Nadia Lopez

October 09, 2020 |

The Fresno Bee |

Multi-Media |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Fresno, California

Latino and Latina politicians hold 48% of Fresno County’s elected positions. These gains were facilitated by the California Voting Rights Act, which calls for the use of district elections instead of citywide races in areas where communities feel disenfranchised. Districts are smaller units, so candidates are elected by their immediate community rather than the entire city. Financing a district election campaign is also more reasonable. District elections lessen the disproportionate influence of populations that historically have higher voter turnout. About 130 of 450 cities have adopted district elections.

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How to fix America's voter registration system so more people can vote

Jen Kirby

October 06, 2020 |

Vox |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Over a dozen states have adopted some variation of automatic voter registration, which is common in many European democracies. Voters in Oregon are mailed a notification when they are enrolled, which they can send back to opt out if they want. Prior to the 2016 election, 225,000 Oregonians were registered that way and 100,000 of those voted, a turnout rate of 43%. Some believe it is a more accurate way to maintain and update voter rolls. For voter data, states can use DMV and state tax records or join the over 30 states who are members of the nonprofit Electronic Registration Information Center.

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How diverse is your government? These two laws changed who holds power in California

Kim Bojórquez

October 05, 2020 |

Sacramento Bee |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

In California, two laws have helped to open opportunities for less experienced candidates to win state and local offices, which has increased representation among people of color. A 1990 law set term limits for the state legislature, which forces turnover, and the California Voting Rights Act allowed communities of color to demand electoral changes, including by-district elections that have increased Latinx and Black representatives at the local level. These laws have helped to level the playing field but the benefits have not occurred across all districts, instead they tend to be driven by a few cities.

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Taiwan's Crowdsourced Democracy Shows Us How to Fix Social Media

Carl Miller

September 27, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Taiwan

vTaiwan is a mixed-reality, scaled listening exercise used by the government as a new way to make decisions. The platform provides an online space for citizens to debate and for politicians to listen to. The government lays out political questions, such as regulating Uber or changing time zones, and people can share their feelings, agree and disagree, but divisive statements and trolling are not posted. After debating for a period of time it became apparent that people converged around points of consensus. The government has implemented about a dozen laws and regulations based on the discussions.

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Chicago Teens Unveil Vision for Change and Public Safety in Their Neighborhood

Zach Mortice

September 23, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Twenty high school students enrolled in Territory, an urban design nonprofit, produced a zine and their own quality of life report for West Austin, where many of the students live. The students conducted interviews, surveys, and gathered community input to create the report. It includes sections on public safety, youth empowerment, and mental health.

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Can an Algorithm Help Solve Political Paralysis?

Julia Hotz

September 18, 2020 |

Scientific American |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Citizen assemblies bring together residents for in-depth discussions about solutions to social issues. This alternative form of democracy led to policy changes in many countries, including legalizing abortion in Ireland. In the UK, an algorithm was applied to form a 110-person “climate assembly.” In a multistage process, the algorithm selected a representative sample of the U.K.’s population, sometimes oversampling harder to reach groups to ensure inclusion. A small stipend was also offered to offset costs for people with lower incomes. The group submitted a final report with climate policy recommendations.

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The Law Preventing Congress from Sending States the Coronavirus Bill

Alan Greenblatt

August 27, 2020 |

Governing |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) protects states from having to fund federal laws. Prior to its passage, Congress passed bills without worrying about how to fund them, leaving states, cities, and counties to pay for federal mandates. Though UMRA has not been foolproof, 185 unfunded mandates were passed in 1993 before the law was passed and only 15 laws that violate UMRA limits were enacted between 1996 and 2018. Congress is not required to fund the whole bill, which means localities can still be required to pay significant amounts for federally mandated laws.

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Courts rule

Emma Athena

August 20, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

Almost half of U.S. states guarantee citizens’ rights to petition for ballot measures, but the coronavirus made gathering signatures in person infeasible. Massachusetts courts allowed electronic signatures, but other states have not approved virtual citizen initiative campaigns. Ballot initiatives allow citizens to advance solutions and enact structural changes without relying on support from elected officials. MA groups used DocuSign to gather 30,000 signatures to get a proposal for ranked choice voting on the ballot. Not all MA groups were able to quickly or successfully pivot to the e-signature process.

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The old-school organizers who got it done on Zoom

Nick Bowlin

August 06, 2020 |

High Country News |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, California

The Industrial Areas Foundation, the country’s oldest community organizing group, adapted to coronavirus restrictions by using technology to win relief for immigrants without legal documentation in California. Organizing a diverse coalition over zoom had many challenges, but they successfully won the expansion of the California Earned Income Tax Credit to include people who file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, rather than a Social Security number. This applies to about one-tenth of California’s workforce who mainly work in hard-hit service and agriculture industries.

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