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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

New Demos Study Reveals Fast-food Industry with Greatest CEO-to-Worker Pay Disparity in Economy

(New York, NY) – As shareholders prepare for annual meetings, Demos released a new study today that finds that the fast-food industry has the greatest CEO-to-worker pay disparity in our economy, with ratios exceeding 1,000-to-1. The study finds that the growing disparity within fast-food threatens
Press release/statement

Fast Food CEOs Make The Most Relative To Their Average Employees, Study Shows, More Than In Retail, Media Or Construction

Shantel Walker has been working on and off for Papa John’s pizza since she was in high school. The 32-year-old New York City resident says that over her 15 years at a Brooklyn outlet of the Louisville, Ky.-based pizza chain, she’s received only two raises that weren’t mandated by federal or state
In the media
Angelo Young

Study: Fast food CEOs paid millions more than workers

Fast food CEOs were paid more than 1,200 times the average fast food worker in 2012, according to a new study released Tuesday by Demos, a public policy group. On a conference call to discuss the report New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said such a wide income disparity could affect the city
In the media
Alison Fox

Returning to the Democracy of the Founding Fathers is Not a Good Look

The recent op-ed from NAACP LDF president Sherrilyn Ifill on the recent McCutcheon ruling is a must read. In it, she implores us to focus in on the “devastating aspect” of Chief Justice John Roberts's majority opinion ruling as summarized in his opening sentences: "There is no right more basic in
Blog
Brentin Mock

Fast-Food CEOs Make 1,000 Times More Than Their Workers

Fast-food restaurants are serving up plenty of food for discussion in the debate over income inequality. Fast-food chief executives take home $1,000 for every $1 dollar earned by their average workers, making it the most unequal sector within the U.S. economy, according to a new report from public
In the media
Aimee Picchi

Is Reducing Inequality a Lost Cause?

Is reducing inequality a lost cause? It can sure feel that way given what's happened in the past few decades: Like two billion new workers showing up in the global economy ready to work at a fraction of the pay of American workers. Or advances in technology and communications allowing corporations
Blog
David Callahan

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

Good Question: If Cities Are Where the Action Is, Why Subsidize the 'Burbs?

Vishaan Chakrabarti has a great op-ed yesterday that asks a question that we've asked here before: Why does our government so heavily subsidize the suburbs when urban living makes more sense: environmentally, economically, and culturally?
Blog
David Callahan

Detroit's Changing Numbers in Bankruptcy Deal to Face Scrutiny

A sudden change of fortune for 32,400 Detroit pensioners in the city’s historic bankruptcy — from the threat of draconian pension cuts to a modest reduction in lifetime benefits — could face mathematical scrutiny as the case proceeds, experts say. In just 10 months, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn
In the media
Chad Livengood

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