Advocacy

In several recent policy reports, Demos has examined the rapid increase in the size and complexity of American financial firms, and the way in which these trends relate to the factors (skewed incentives, excessive risk-taking, conflicts of interest, and opaque accounting, among them) that lay at the heart of the financial meltdown. In the U.S. today, six financial firms - Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo - have combined assets equal to 60 percent of GDP. That is three times the holdings of these and their antecedent institutions fifteen years ago. The SAFE Banking Act--as part of strong, comprehensive financial reform - is a critical measure that will restore balance to our economy.

Before the Committee today is HB 496, the No Representation Without Population Act, which would correct within the state of Maryland a long-standing flaw in the decennial Census that counts incarcerated people as residents of the wrong location.

The benefits of EDR are clear, and Demos' research has shown that implementation is relatively simple and cost-effective. The consensus among officials in EDR states is that Election Day Registration actually makes the election process easier to administer, as it reduces or eliminates the need for provisional ballots and mitigates pre-deadline surges in registrations.

Based on interviews with town, city or county clerks and full-time election administrators, Demos has put together a "how-to guide" on EDR implementation and administration for election officials and policymakers in states and localities where it is being considered.

The court finds that the New York public college and university system violates the National Voter Registration Act by failing to offer voter registration opportunities at those offices serving disabled students at the state's public universities and colleges, which the statute requires.