If elections are the foundation of our democracy, then poll workers are the gears and wheels that make the mechanics of democracy function on Election Day. Regrettably, this human factor is often overlooked and under-supported. States squeak by each year with a bare minimum of poll workers who receive inadequate training for an increasingly complex task. Recent surveys, press accounts, and troubled primary elections attest to the problem.
Felony disfranchisement is the practice of denying people with felony convictions the right to vote. The American tradition of states determining their own election laws has led to a national patchwork of policies and practices that result in de jure and de facto denial of the vote based on felony conviction status Currently, most states impose some voting restrictions on people with felony convictions, ranging from a prohibition from voting while incarcerated to a virtual lifetime ban.
A properly functioning democracy encourages all eligible citizens to participate in elections. Our nation's commitment to this goal has resulted in landmark laws to assure that access to voting is available to all, including persons with disabilities and U.S. citizens who may have limited proficiency in English.
The 2000 election will be remembered as a national debacle in which millions of citizens were denied the right to vote and have that vote be properly counted. To remedy the problems of 2000, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). One of HAVA's principal provisions required states to adopt a system of "fail-safe" voting in which a person who goes to the polls, but whose name is not on the voter lists or who cannot produce the necessary identification, is allowed to vote on a provisional ballot.
As a nation, we now face a serious threat to the very nature of our democracy, and the core American belief that wide electoral participation by as many eligible voters as possible is central to our prosperity and success. With salacious and often unfounded allegations of efforts to vote by non-citizens, the deceased, felons and even pets, partisans, fringe organizations, and opinion makers of all kinds have pressed for strict new voter identification requirements. But the facts do not warrant these extreme proposals. All available evidence suggests that voter fraud is exceedingly rare.
A Demos briefing book, with state-and federal-level application, to help elected officials advance new policies that promote electoral participation and provide all Americans with access to a stable, secure middle class.
In recent years, citizens, the media and political experts have expressed growing concern over redistricting--the process of drawing new district lines to determine which residents will be grouped together when electing representatives. This concern has focused on the steady decline in competitiveness in congressional and legislative districts across the country and the recent efforts of several states to redraw legislative districts mid-decade to gain partisan advantage.
This memo outlines how the Justices lined up on the issues in Randall v. Sorrell, provides some analysis of the opinions, and touches on the implications for future reform efforts.
Although Americans of all ages have endured the economic and social changes of the post-industrial era, today's young people are the first to experience its full weight as they try to start their adult lives. But the challenges facing young adults also reflect the failure of public policy to address the changing realities of building a life in the 21st century.
The United States faces major challenges in sustaining a strong middle class in the decades ahead. Rapidly changing, often volatile economic conditions are making it more difficult to enter the middle class -- and stay there. Even as the bar to a middle class life is raised higher, economic opportunity is fading. As a result, the most rapidly growing groups in the U.S. -- particularly African Americans and Latinos -- face growing obstacles to entering, and staying in, America's middle class.
The Brennan Center for Justice, Demos and the Legal Action Center call upon the New York State Board of Elections to end the systematic practice of illegally disenfranchising thousands of eligible voters. A survey of 63 local election boards conducted late last year by the Brennan Center and Demos found that more than one-third of local boards, including four in New York City, are disenfranchising former prisoners and probationers who are eligible to register and vote under state law.
For the first time since its decision in Buckley v. Valeo nearly 30 years ago, the Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of campaign spending limits. The case, Randall v. Sorrell, No. 04-1528, raises issues that go to the heart of our democracy. Vermont’s comprehensive reform law was adopted in 1997 out of concern over the escalating arms race in campaign fundraising and spending that has undermined public confidence in government and turned elected officials into full-time fundraisers.
This new Demos report, published in collaboration with Business Ethics Magazine, explores growing efforts by state and local governments to ensure corporate accountability. It looks at the changing role of state treasurers, labor pension funds, and others working to demand more responsible business practices at a time when national reform proposals have been stalled in Congress.
Public Briefing is an occasional white paper series by the Public Works program of Demos. These papers include summaries of research and reports as well as essays and articles related to the work of the program.
Key findings from the second round of cognitive interviews about public perceptions of government.
American families are struggling in an increasingly volatile economy defined by job instability, continued layoffs in the guise of "downsizing", and declining employee benefits--factors augmented by new trends like outsourcing and unfettered trade. The result is a fragile alliance between workers and employers-- and families and the economy. At the same time that American households have become more vulnerable, our economic safety net has steadily eroded.
Public Briefing is an occasional white paper series by the Public Works program of Demos. These papers include summaries of research and reports as well as essays and articles related to the work of the program.
An analysis of the images of government in the public mind.
Public Briefing is an occasional white paper series by the Public Works program of Demos. These papers include summaries of research and reports as well as essays and articles related to the work of the program.
Key findings from the first round of cognitive interviews.
States are failing low-income communities and our nation's democracy by not adequately complying with federal law that requires human services agencies to provide voter registration services.
While real income gains were realized during the economic boom over the latter half of the 1990s, the average American's credit card debt rose faster than ever before. While balances grew faster for white families than for African-American and Hispanic families, all groups experienced a significant rise in debt between 1992 and 2001. African-American and Hispanic families were more likely, overall, to carry a credit card balance than whites.