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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

Detroit Bankruptcy 'Cramdown' Could End Pension Fight

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes last week approved an agreement that has the city of Detroit paying $85 million to escape a disastrous interest-rate swap deal with two banks. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, for one, applauded the decision. “Today’s ruling is a victory for Detroiters that
In the media
Curt Guyette

Finally, Hope for Pensioners in the Detroit Bankruptcy

It is indeed remarkable that the Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has agreed that existing pensioners can receive virtually all of their retirement benefits in a startling settlement proposal. Police and fire will receive their entire amounts (minus a portion of cost of living adjustment) while
Blog
Wallace C. Turbeville

New York Enacts National Popular Vote Proposal

NEW YORK— Yesterday, New York joined ten states and the District of Columbia to enact a National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) proposal. NPVIC, if enacted, would award all of a state’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, ensuring the winner of the popular vote wins
Press release/statement

When Ordinary People Speak, Do the Powerful Ever Listen?

It's no secret that when the wealthy speak, the powerful listen. What else would you expect when the average cost of winning a House seat has soared by 344 percent since 1986? But the other side of this coin tends to get less attention: How do the powerful respond to the voices of ordinary people --
Blog
David Callahan

The Richer You Are, the More Likely You Are to Vote [Chart]

A newly-released study by Demos, a think-tank, shows that there is a correlation between income and voter turnout in presidential elections. Using the 2008 presidential election as a reference for the study, Demos found that the richer an individual is, the more likely they are to vote.
In the media
Ayobami Olugbemiga

Obama on Voter ID: Right Speech in the Right Place for the Right Reason

The same day President Obama was at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network conference deriding and lambasting voter ID laws, I was on a plane with the pro-voter ID blogger J. Christian Adams. Between the two of us, you won’t find two people at farther opposing ends of the voting rights spectrum.
Blog
Brentin Mock

Meet Two Small Tax Reforms That Could Yield Big Money

Even if Paul Ryan's latest draconian budget plan gets safely filed away and forgotten, all forms of discretionary government spending face a relentless squeeze over the next decade. President Obama's own most recent proposed budget would bring such spending down to levels not seen since Eisenhower
Blog
David Callahan

The Real Cost of High Frequency Trading

Michael Lewis’ new book, “Flash Boys,” relates a real-life techno thriller in which a trader who identifies and ultimately thwarts a scheme deployed by piratical “High Frequency Traders” to squeeze a relatively small amount out of many stock transactions being executed electronically. As our hero’s
Blog
Wallace C. Turbeville

How Unequal Justice Makes Us Super Cynical

At the heart of the social contract lie three pretty simple propositions: First, that if you work hard and play by the rules, you'll lead a secure life. Second, that everyone gets a say in how the rules are made. And, third, that whoever breaks the rules, however high and might they are, is held
Blog
David Callahan

The Cities With Opportunity Are Way Too Expensive. What Can We Do About That?

Over the past 15 years, Brooklyn went from being a place known for cheap real estate and long subway rides to a place where professionals jockey to find a decent two-bedroom for under $4,000 a month. Something similar can be said about a lot of other once-marginal neighborhoods in major U.S. cities
Blog
David Callahan