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‘We depend on each other': A community driven to vote

Jingnan Peng

November 03, 2022 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Decatur, Georgia

Disability rights activist Zan Thornton organizes a network of volunteer drivers in Georgia to help voters with disabilities get accessible rides to the polls. In 2021, they organized free transportation for more than 150 people and have helped more than 50 so far for the 2022 midterms.

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'We don't read print': Blind voters say new accessible ballot measures fall short

Olivia Ebertz

November 02, 2022 |

Gothamist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

In 2022, New York rolled out a new accessible voting option for blind residents, allowing them to fill out their ballots electronically using screen reader technology. Roughly 1,000 people requested the accessible ballots for the 2022 general election, but blind voters say there are still issues that need to be worked out, such as the requirement to print and mail in the ballots.

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Doug Mastriano's proposed voter roll purge addresses a non-existent problem and targets vulnerable voters, experts say

Robby Brod

November 02, 2022 |

WITF |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania uses ERIC, or the Electronic Registration Information Center, to cross-check its voter rolls against Department of Motor Vehicle data from other states to identify voters who have moved and become "inactive." In 2020, state and county leaders reported they removed more than 180,000 out-of-state residents and 80,000 deceased voters.

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How parts of northwestern Ontario bucked the provincial trend of a lower municipal voter turnout

Olivia Levesque

October 28, 2022 |

CBC |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Atikokan, Ontario

Though voter turnout for municipal elections dropped about 4 percent across Ontario in 2022, a handful of communities in the northwestern part of the province bucked that trend by switching to online voting or telephone voting and a focus on outreach with younger residents. In the town of Atikokan, about 56 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, compared to 34 percent throughout the province as a whole.

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Thousands of eligible Wisconsin voters face ballot barriers in jail

Matt Mencarini Erin McGroarty Phoebe Petrovic

October 18, 2022 |

Wisconsin Watch |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Jails in Illinois and Texas have improved voting access for people who are incarcerated by coordinating with voting rights advocacy groups and bringing the polls on-site. In June, voter turnout at the Cook County Jail in Illinois exceeded that of the city of Chicago as a whole, and the Harris County Jail in Texas saw 96 people vote in-person in November 2021 and about 200 cast ballots in the March primary.

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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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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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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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