The Economic State of Young America is a comprehensive databook offering proof that a combination of declining incomes, growing debt, and high costs of education, homeownership and healthcare are conspiring to make this generation the first to not surpass the living standards of their parents. The report examines the financial condition of today's young adults across key economic indicators, including jobs and income, debt and savings, college access and attainment, and housing affordability.
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2007 was the first year that the North Carolina General Assembly seriously considered Same Day Registration. SDR bills had been introduced in prior years and attracted legislative support, but never gained sufficient traction. This report recounts North Carolina's road to Same Day Registration from three different perspectives: legislative supporters, elections officials and the advocacy community.
When Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993, its goals were to “increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office” and “protect the integrity of the electoral process.”Yet, while most states created effective programs for mail-in and Department of Motor Vehicles-based registration processes, many neglected the NVRA’s social service agency requirements (detailed in Section 7 of the Act). This paper outlines and highlights the outstanding and thorough work of the North Carolina Board of Elections in responding to ev
We have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should Vermont adopt Election Day Registration (EDR). Under the system proposed in Vermont, eligible voters who miss the current six-day deadline for registering by mail may be able to register to vote on Election Day. The availability of Election Day Registration procedures should give voters who have not previously registered the opportunity to vote. Consistent with existing research on the impact of EDR in the other states that use this process, we find that EDR would likely lead to substantial increases in voter turnout.
As the next installment in the By a Thread series, Economic (In)Security uses the Middle Class Security Index to provide the first comprehensive portrait of the level of financial security enjoyed by African-American and Latino middle-class families. The findings show that, in the wake of fading economic opportunity, these two rapidly growing groups face mounting obstacles in becoming part of, and remaining securely in, America's middle class.
Twelve years since the enactment of the NVRA, states across the country have regularly failed to comply with public assistance voter registration requirements.
In the Red or In the Black? looks at whether household savings serve to protect families from incurring unsecured debt, and in turn, whether the presence of unsecured debt acts as a barrier to savings and wealth accumulation.
Since the 2000 election, a historic effort has been underway in the United States to strengthen voting systems across all 50 states and to address obstacles to broader electoral participation. At both the federal and state levels, however, efforts to advance a reform agenda have been frequently complicated by heated debates over the integrity of voting systems — and by allegations of widespread election fraud, and its cohort, voter fraud.
With the governor Chet Culver's pen stroke, Iowa became the eighth state in the nation to extend the franchise to otherwise eligible citizens who had not yet registered to vote at the close of voter registration deadlines. This report recounts the successful implementation of Election Day Registration in Iowa.
Developed in collaboration with the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, By a Thread: The New Experience of America's Middle Class looks at the financial security of the middle class using the innovative Middle Class Security Index, rating household stability across five core economic factors: assets, educational achievement, housing costs, budget and healthcare. The Index provides a comprehensive portrait of how well middle-class families are faring in each of these areas, with spotlight on the strengths and vulnerabilities of today's middle class.
A Fallible 'Fail-Safe' provides a snapshot of provisional balloting problems experienced by voters across the nation in November 2006, as reported by Election Protection volunteers. While provisional ballots may comprise only a fraction of the national vote, as this report shows, they determined the outcome of various electoral races in 2006.
Election Day Registration (EDR), sometimes called “same day registration” (SDR), allows eligible voters to register and cast a ballot on Election Day. Nine states currently have EDR or SDR laws. Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin adopted EDR in the 1970s. Idaho, New Hampshire and Wyoming enacted Election Day Registration two decades later. Montana implemented EDR in 2006.
Americans carry over $800 Billion in credit card debt. Using most recent data from the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances, Borrowing to Make Ends Meet exposes this and other disturbing trends in American families’ debts and financial assets. The report breaks down debt and asset data by age, race and income demographics, and shows how financial fragility makes the most vulnerable groups of Americans even more so.
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We have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should California adopt Election Day Registration (EDR). The availability of EDR procedures should give voters who have not previously registered or need to update their information the opportunity to vote. Consistent with existing research on the impact of Election Day Registration in the other states that use this process, we find that EDR would likely lead to substantial increases in voter turnout. We offer the following voter turnout estimates for California under EDR:
R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in Iowa.
It has been nearly two decades since the credit card industry was deregulated with the promise of bringing greater competition and lower prices to consumers. Under the shield of deregulation, credit card companies have shifted the cost of credit to individuals least able to afford it. As this report shows, low-income individuals, African Americans, Latinos and single females bear the brunt of the cost of credit card deregulation through excessive fees and high interest rates.
Basic demographic data reveal much about the need for better access to the voting process.
Studies have shown that 20% of the population of the U.S. has one or more disabilities and that approximately 10% of that number live with severe disabilities and that about 20% of U.S. adults with disabilities — more than 8 million potential voters — say they have been unable to vote in presidential or congressional elections due to barriers at or getting to the polls.