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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

January Young Adult Employment Summary

Last Friday's better than expected unemployment report brought good tidings for the nation’s 15 million unemployed and marginally attached workers -- and for the first time in a long time, it seems like young people are sharing the gains.
Blog
Catherine Ruetschlin

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

Some super PACs receive untraceable money, campaigns dominated by super rich, study finds

Six out of the top 10 fundraising super PACs have received untraceable donations. In total, 20 percent of super PACs received untraceable donations in 2011. A study entitled "Auctioning Democracy" also found that the super rich give a large amount of the funding received by super PACs. This skews
In the media
Liz Kaczke

Super PACs Make It Rain

It’s no secret that super PACs skew toward the wealthy set. However, a new study from Demos (editor's note: Demos is The American Prospect's publishing partner) and U.S. PIRG highlights how few people are running the money game this election cycle and how secret some of their contributions can be.
In the media
Jaime Fuller

Report looks at the rise of super PACs

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

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

Primer: How Super PACs Rake It In

Super PACs raised about $181 million in the last two years — with roughly half of it coming from fewer than 200 super-rich people.
In the media
Kenneth P. Vogel
Abby Phillip

Blair Bowie: How Super PACs Are Auctioning Our Democracy to the Highest Bidder, and How We Can Fight Back

In a new report, called Auctioning Democracy: The Rise of Super PACs and the 2012 Elections, we take a comprehensive look at Super PAC fundraising -- from their advent in the wake of 2010's Citizens United Supreme Court decision through 2011 Federal Election Commission year-end filings.
In the media

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

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