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Image of a hand lowering a voter registration sheet into an orange box with stacks of voter registration papers on both sides

Threats to Ballot Access: New Report Examines Risks of Wrongful Voter Removals Across the Country

Dēmos examines ballot access issues, voter suppression in AZ, GA, OH, CA, IN, WI, MI, NC, TX, LA 

Press release/statement
August 10, 2023

We are changing the conversation around our democracy and economy by telling influential new stories about our country and its people. Get our latest blog and media updates here. For more in-depth explorations and analyses, visit our Resources page.

Featured
Ground level view of the Wall Street Stock Exchange

Unfinished Business: Revisiting Dodd-Frank and the Path to Economic Progress

On the anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, we reflect on recent banking failures and the inequities inherent in our current financial system. 

Blog
Daniella Zessoules
Black mother and daughter looking at the city river

A Supreme Court Power Grab: Attacking Federal Agencies to Advance an Extremist Agenda

Why the Court's decision to limit the EPA's power to regulate water access is yet another case of eroding the power of the other branches of government at the expense of Black and brown people.

Blog
Ashley Tjhung
supreme court

Supreme Court's Rejection of Affirmative Action Widens the Divide: Dēmos Calls for Renewed Efforts to Combat Systemic Racism

“The 14th Amendment is supposed to be a shield against racism, and now it’s being used as a sword.” 

Press release/statement
Taifa Smith Butler

LatinoJustice & Dēmos File Amicus in Supreme Court Case Challenging Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law under the Voting Rights Act

LatinoJustice and Dēmos submitted an amici curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a petition for certiorari challenging Michigan’s controversial Emergency Manager Law, Public Act (PA) 436.
Press release/statement
Polling Station Door

Voter Suppression Works

Since 2006, states across the country have implemented strict voter ID laws, which require photo identification at polling places. Extensive research has suggested that these laws are motivated by racism and partisanship.
Blog
Sean McElwee

Infrastructure Priorities for Racial Equity: Schools, Parks, and Jobs

This blog post adds details to “ Infrastructure Priorities for Racial Equity: How The People’s Budget Helps and Trump’s Budget Hurts .” It is one of a series of blogs on the priority areas for infrastructure investments to achieve racial equity. Achieve School Infrastructure Equity
Blog
Algernon Austin

California Is Being Sued For Making Voter Registration Too Complicated

A 2015 report by Demos found that California had one of the country’s the lowest ratios of DMV voter registration applications to DMV transactions, between 0.01 and 0.1. [...]
In the media
Sam Levine

Voting Rights Groups Sue California for Voter Suppression

Legal Action taken due to State’s Failure to Comply with "Motor Voter" Law SACRAMENTO, CA —Voting rights groups filed a federal lawsuit today against California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for its failure to offer federally mandated voter registration opportunities to millions of
Press release/statement

Economic Anxiety Didn’t Make People Vote Trump, Racism Did

Our analysis shows Trump accelerated a realignment in the electorate around racism, across several different measures of racial animus—and that it helped him win. By contrast, we found little evidence to suggest individual economic distress benefited Trump. [...]
In the media
Sean McElwee
Jason McDaniel

Infrastructure Priorities for Racial Equity: Lead Poisoning and Water Poverty

Two priority areas for infrastructure investments to achieve racial equity.
Blog
Algernon Austin

Why did Trump win? More whites — and fewer blacks — actually voted.

Here, we offer new data to show that shifts in which racial groups went to the polls may have made the difference.
In the media
Sean McElwee
Bernard L. Fraga
Jesse Rhodes
Brian Schaffner

Demos Demands Justice for Jordan Edwards

May 5, 2017 (New York, NY) – Amidst multiple ongoing investigations into the shooting death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards at the hands of a Texas police officer, Heather McGhee, President of the New York-based public policy think tank Demos, issued the following statement: “Jordan Edwards was a 15
Press release/statement

The People’s Budget Confronts Trump’s Phony Populism on Workers

Donald Trump campaigned as the defender of working Americans. In his inaugural address, Trump vowed that every decision he made would be to benefit America’s workers. Yet his proposed federal budget, Cabinet appointments, and other actions since taking office suggest little concern for workers’
Blog
Amy Traub