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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

Derivatives Jurisdiction: Victory or Defeat?

This morning, several media outlets rushed to report that Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler had lost his battle to secure robust rules governing the international exercise of the Commission’s jurisdiction to govern derivatives.
Blog
Wallace C. Turbeville

Want to Fix the US Student Loan Crisis? Put Colleges on the Hook

The question of student loans is taking on an increasing urgency everywhere but Washington. Rates on federally subsidized loans doubled to almost 7% on July 1, thanks to Congressional bickering and dithering. The latest attempt to roll back the rates failed to get out of the Senate earlier this week
In the media
Helaine Olen

Smithsonian Workers Stage Walkout, Demanding a Living Wage

Low-wage workers at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. went on strike today. The striking workers are employed through private federal contractors—mostly vendors at federal buildings like the Smithsonian Museums, the Ronald Reagan Building and the International Trade Center. Although
In the media
Jeff Schuhrke

Concession Workers Strike the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian is a national treasure. The world's largest museum and research complex, it encompasses a remarkable 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoo, and nine research centers. In many ways, the institution represents what’s best about America, including free access to our cultural
Blog
Amy Traub

Key Provision Could be Voting Rights Act’s ‘Secret Weapon’

Voting rights activists have seized upon a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in an effort to mitigate the damage done by the Supreme Court earlier this month in the case of Shelby County, Alabama v. Attorney General Eric Holder. According to Adam Serwer at MSNBC.com, the state of Texas may
In the media
David Ferguson

Extremists At Work: The Fate of SNAP in the Farm Bill

Just as much as farm subsidies, the debates over the current version of the Farm Bill have involved funding for SNAP benefits, mostly in the form of proposals to cut them, making it even harder for America's working poor to access essential benefits.
Blog
Ilana Novick

Student Debt Crisis Ignored While The Senate Fails to Act on Mild Relief

Today, the Senate failed to extend the current 3.4 percent interest rate for subsidized student loans, making it even more likely that college students borrowing for the fall semester will have to pay much more for the privilege of higher education.
Blog
Robert Hiltonsmith

The Minimum Wage “Tax and Transfer”

Since everyone knows that the real Fed hippies are in DC, a paper from the Chicago Fed highlighting the benefits of raising the minimum wage provides the argument with some conformist cred. According to economists David Aaronson and Eric French, Obama’s proposed minimum wage hike to $9 an hour would
Blog
Catherine Ruetschlin

Undocumented Worker Alleges Wage Theft, Ends Up In Deportation Proceedings

Three years ago, Antonio Vanegas took a job at a pita shop inside the food court at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in D.C.
In the media
Dave Jamieson

Spitzer is Dead Wrong on Public Financing

Former Governor Eliot Spitzer announced his run for NYC Comptroller yesterday and this morning on the Brian Lehrer show, he attacked his opponent, Scott Stringer, for opting into public financing. Spitzer said, “He (Stringer)’ll be spending your money, I’ll be spending my own.” This characteristic
Blog
J. Mijin Cha