Let's nix Columbus Day and make Election Day a paid holiday instead

B. Godihal is one of the thousands of communities in Karnataka that have worked to hold clean elections, stirred by a confluence of awareness campaigns by nongovernmental organizations and rising public frustration with candidates’ broken promises.

In Takoma Park, Maryland, the voting age for local elections is 16. Lowering the age has increased turnout among youth—and studies show that the sooner people start to vote, the more likely they are to be lifetime voters.

In the U.S. the electorate skews white, wealthy, and old because such demographics are more likely to vote. Creating mandatory voting laws would increase voter turnout and thus increase voting equity.

Voters tend to know a lot about presidential and local candidates but little about those in between. In Sierra Leone, an organization hosted, filmed, and then projected the debates in villages, increasing voters’ knowledge of the candidates and issues, and changing the way people voted.

Low voter turnouts, populists offering half-truths, corporate interests, and the blurring of facts in the media are signs that democracy around the world is in turmoil. Internationally, citizens have assembled different programs and initiatives that arm ordinary people with information about policy and their elected officials, as well as distinctive ways to reform the electoral system.

Voter turnout is a problem around the world, especially in local elections and among minority groups. But a small group of academics and activists in the US are experimenting with a new way to encourage people to turn up to vote: a lottery. Every voter is entered and one lucky winner gets a big cash prize, eliminating the risk of bribery and bought votes.

Low voter turnout has affected the results of numerous elections across the country. Oregon gave its residents the choice to opt in instead of out when receiving government services, in the hopes of increasing voter turnout.

In China, rampant sales tax fraud was addressed with a unique solution. In an attempt to increase transparent sales and receipt use, the government implemented a scratch lottery system on receipts. This solution, using lottery systems to increase turnout and engagement, is being used across the globe, even in the United States to help increase voter turnout.

In Kenya, men have been overrepresented in government positions, sparking new legislation that women should occupy at least one-third of the public elected body. Men have become increasingly involved in helping women get elected by helping them campaign, protecting their safety, overseeing election procedures etc.

For the third election in a row, House Republicans got bonus seats in 2016, through gerrymandering. Thanks to a grassroots citizen movement and computer sleuthing, Florida admitted to breaking the law and has replaced state maps with more competitive, voter-friendly districts.