Ballot design should be simple and straightforward to ensure voters understand for whom and for what they are casting their votes.
Ballots should be written in clear, plain language.
Ballot design should focus on the ABCs: Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity.
It seems almost too basic to have to state that the ballots used for voting must be simple and straightforward. Yet, past experience has shown that ballot confusion is common and can have disastrous consequences.
Overly burdensome photo ID laws add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy that disenfranchises millions of otherwise eligible voters.
Photo ID requirements place tremendous fiscal burdens on states and localities.
States should look to their constitutions to protect the freedom to vote from onerous ID laws.
Restrictive photo ID laws for voting are a level of unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy that hinder the freedom to vote. Strict laws that require narrow types of government-issued ID go above and beyond normal registration requirements.
Provisional ballots are not counted as regular ballots and should be used in only very limited situations.
Provisional ballots cast solely because an eligible voter voted in the wrong precinct or polling place should be counted as a regular ballot for any office for which the voter was eligible to vote.
Adopting Same Day Registration would substantially decrease the need for provisional ballots because eligible voters can simply re-register if there are registration issues.
The scenario occurs regularly on Election Day: a voter will show up at t
Nearly six million people are denied the right to vote due to felony offenses, even if they have completed their sentences.
One out of every 13 eligible African Americans of voting age has lost their right to vote.
States should not permanently take away the freedom to vote from any citizen. At a bare minimum, the right to vote should be automatically restored once a person is released from incarceration.
Prohibiting citizens from voting defies our democracy’s principle of one person, one vote.
States should ensure eligible voters can be added to state registration databases with fair, effective and uniform standards, and should only remove voters in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act and other applicable laws.
Only election officials should be able to challenge the eligibility of a voter.
When a voter is challenged, the burden of proof should fall on the challenger with a specific and timely adjudication process.
Eligible Americans should not have to overcome burdensome barriers to cast their ballots.
Making our election system function for all of our citizens should be a bedrock commitment of our nation. The current disparities by class and race in voter registration—and thus, voter turnout—undermine an essential tenet of our democracy: of, by and for the people. In order to address the current inefficiencies and inadequacies in our election procedures, we have outlined a robust set of policy recommendations and best practices.
Election administration should not be affected by partisan goals.
Partisan election administration increases the risk of disenfranchisement.
Non-partisan election administration boosts faith and confidence in the electoral process and promotes fair and accurate electoral results.
If anything should be free from politics or partisan fighting, it should be our election administration. Regardless of political ideology, everyone can agree that our elections should be conducted in a non-partisan and transparent manner.
Same-Day Registration (SDR) allows eligible voters to register to vote and cast their ballots on the same day. SDR offers an easy, practical solution that works to fix many registration errors that can prevent eligible voters from casting their ballot.
Generations Initiative is a network of leaders, organizations, and communities that work together to raise awareness and promote solutions to harness America's current demographic revolution to our country's advantage. It aims to build on the strengths of each generation to ensure our democratic and economic vitality. The goal is to catalyze action that transforms these demographic shifts into an asset for our collective future.
Elizabeth Ridlington and Miles Unterreiner of Frontier Group, Robert Hiltonsmith of Demos, and Kurt Walters of Public Campaign helped with data analysis for this report.
How taxpayers are bankrolling the paychecks of already-wealthy executives instead of supporting more livable wages for American workers struggling to get by.
After getting the First Amendment supremely wrong in Citizens United, the Supreme Court now faces its next money in politics case. In McCutcheon v. FEC, the challengers are attacking a law that says that no one person can contribute over $123,000 directly to federal candidates, parties, and committees—that’s over twice the average American’s income.
These stories were taken from the thousands of stories submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when they requested comments about private educational loans and struggles with student loan debt.
Just as postsecondary education is becoming increasingly vital to getting a good job and entering the middle class, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many New Yorkers. State policy decisions have played a significant role in this rise by shifting costs onto students and families though declining state support. New York’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past twenty years, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need.
Three years have passed since David (the American public) defeated Goliath (the big banks) and the Dodd-Frank Act became law. Implementation staggers forward and there have been some recent encouraging developments. But, overall, there is reason for serious concern about the fate of financial reform.