Menu
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

Majority Of Super PAC Money Still Coming From Individuals

One of the effects of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision is that it allowed corporations to give unlimited amounts to independent expenditure political action committees capable of supporting or opposing political candidates. But a new report from the non-profit group Demos shows that the
In the media
Ryan J. Reilly

Some Super PAC Money Is Untraceable

Six of the top 10 super PACs active in the 2012 elections have received money from untraceable sources, including nonprofits and shell corporations, according to a report released today by two progressive advocacy groups.
In the media
Eliza Newlin Carney

Super PACs raise $181 million from fewer than 200 people

As if we needed still more evidence that financial authority over national political campaigns is increasingly wielded by fewer and fewer really rich people, consider this exhibit: "Super PACs raised about $181 million in the last two years — with roughly half of it coming from fewer than 200 super
In the media
Denny Wilkins

'Super PACs Are Kryptonite for US Democracy'

A joint analysis by Demos and US PIRG released today takes a detailed look at the increasing (and deleterious) impact that so-called Super PACs are having on elections in the United States. Super PACs are independent political action committees that can accept unlimited and often undisclosed
In the media

2012 elections: Super PAC money has secret sources

Citizens United has opened the door to what one report is calling the auctioning of democracy. Much of the money being donated through Super PACs is keeping their source secret and the money is untraceable. If what these Super PAC donors are doing is nothing to be ashamed of, then why are they
In the media
Maryann Tobin

The Illogic of "Funding" Payroll Tax Cuts

Last I checked, the whole point of a reduced payroll tax was to stimulate growth by keeping more money in the economy as opposed to channeling it into the coffers of the U.S. Treasury.
Blog
David Callahan

What Unemployment Rates Don't Tell Us About Millennials' Jobs Woes

Unemployment and underemployment persist even in the best of times, as workers “churn” through the labor market seeking better opportunities and higher wages. But this is not the best of times, and the unemployment and underemployment faced by young people today is not pushing us toward better
In the media
Catherine Ruetschlin

Super PACs eating democracy

Today Illinois PIRG Education Fund and Demos released a new analysis of the funding sources for the campaign finance behemoths, Super PACs. The findings confirmed what many have predicted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Citizens United decision: since their inception in 2010, Super PACs
In the media
E Hopkins

Super PACs: Bad for democracy, good for TV stations

Super PACS “represent much of what is wrong with American democracy rolled neatly into one package,” said Marites Velasquez of Illinois PIRG, announcing a new report showing that fundraising monsters suddenly dominating our elections are funded by a very small number of very rich people.
In the media
Curtis Black

Another Reason Americans Hate Congress -- and Want Reform

Americans don't need more reasons to distrust Congress these days, with polls showing record levels of public disapproval of the legislative branch. Yet the reasons keep coming -- like the fact, as I wrote yesterday, that so many lawmakers and congressional staffers morph into highly paid lobbbyists
Blog
David Callahan