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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

Cecile Richards: Progressive Champion

Cecile Richards is a progressive force to be reckoned with.
Blog
Heather McGhee

White Kids Aren't Buying the Politics of Racial Resentment

The Obama presidency has left an indelible mark on American society, particularly on the issues of race and racism. Deep and enduring fractures across racial lines have been thrust to the forefront of the national conversation.
In the media
Sean McElwee

College Debt Is Much Worse for Black Students

Some 63 percent of white students who graduate from public four-year colleges and universities borrow to do so, but 81 percent of black graduates go that route, according to a study of student debt by Demos, a public policy research organization. When it comes to associate's degrees, 57 percent of
In the media
Kelley Holland

California DMV Takes Important First Steps Toward 
Improving Voter Registration Services

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) took the necessary first steps toward improving voter registration services offered online and at its 174 field offices across the state, though it still will need to address some major issues. Beginning this month, people who are eligible and
Press release/statement

Resurrecting Political Equality

In May, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online will publish a series of essays examining the role that political equality could play in the Supreme Court’s campaign finance jurisprudence. The authors in this collection are helping to relaunch a conversation that has been stagnant for forty
Blog
Johanna Kalb

Dennis Williams, the UAW, and the Fight for True Democracy

Each year, Demos recognizes leaders who are transforming America. From #BlackLivesMatter to Amy Poehler to Rashad Robinson, we have honored the people, organizations, and movements that are challenging our country to live up to the true meaning of democracy: a place where all Americans have an equal
Blog
Heather McGhee

Black Residents Matter

Black lives matter, we’re told—but in many American cities, black residents are either scarce or dwindling in number, chased away by misguided progressive policies that hinder working- and middle-class people. Such policies more severely affect blacks than whites because blacks start from further
In the media
Aaron Renn

How to Create the Best Automatic Voter Registration System

Automatic Voter Registration (AVR)—meaning voter registration that occurs without a proactive effort by individual citizens—has caught fire. Here are three major factors that stakeholders must address.
Blog
Damon L. Daniels

The Chicago Donor Class Dominates City Elections

A newly released report provides the first-ever comprehensive study of how municipal level elections and policymaking are dominated by big donors. How Chicago’s White Donor Class Distorts City Policy shows that in the 2015 Chicago mayoral election, candidates raised more than 90 percent of their
Press release/statement

How a Tiny Sliver of the Population Pays for Local Elections

In a nutshell: Rahm Emanuel relied overwhelming on large donations from a very nearly exclusively white pool of donors — who also, as further analysis shows, largely live in the same few rich wards of the city (save for non-Chicagoans, as Emanuel also did a lot of fundraising outside the city). Even
In the media
Ryan Cooper