From the standpoint of voter access and effective administration, the 2010 elections were in many ways a mixed bag. There were a number of troubling incidents that occurred including voter intimidation and threats of vote suppression, and the structural barriers to voting that keep participation rates down were as apparent as ever.
A picture of the current state of the private retirement system, why this picture bodes ill for the future of retirement in the country, and why that system needs reform.
Available financial aid covers only a fraction of what community college students pay for their education. To finance their studies, many of them enroll in school only part time and/or work more than 20 hours per week, strategies that increase their likelihood of dropping out. To help address this problem, this report highlights strategies adopted by higher education institutions to increase the financial resources of their students. The practices outlined either help students access existing financial aid or provide students with new types of aid.
On June 22 and 23, 2000, Demos convened a national workshop in New York City on “Democracy and the New Federalism”. The workshop was comprised of a diverse group of elected officials, community organizers, researchers, and policy analysts.
In this report, we summarize and reflect on the insights that emerged during the workshop. We hope it will be useful to a wide range of people engaged in efforts to strengthen American democracy.
Background
Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin adopted the practice of Election Day Registration (known as EDR) in the early 1970s. After a two-decade lull in reform activity, Wyoming, New Hampshire and Idaho passed EDR laws in the early ‘90s.
In this groundbreaking report, Columbia University professor Mark Gordon grapples with one of the most important questions facing American democracy: What exactly is globalization and how is it affecting the ability of Americans to govern themselves through traditional civic processes? By focusing on the States and federalism, Professor Gordon looks at the area where our democratic processes are now most in flux as a result of globalization.
This report examines election day registration (EDR), an important reform measure that would help address some of the problems highlighted by the 2000 election. Currently, six states have election day registration - Wisconsin, Maine, Minnesota, Idaho, Wyoming and New Hampshire. As the research presented in this report shows, allowing voters to register and vote on election day helps to increase participation significantly and to ensure that all voters who arrive at the polls can vote.
A concise executive summary of a report that explores how families are increasingly using credit cards to meet their basic needs. Also examines the factors driving this record-setting debt and the impact of deregulation on the cost, availability and marketing of credit cards.
Using new data, this report explores how families are increasingly using credit cards to meet their basic needs. This report also examines the factors driving this record-setting debt and the impact of deregulation on the cost, availability and marketing of credit cards.
Using new data, this report explores how families are increasingly using credit cards to meet their basic needs. This report also examines the factors driving this record-setting debt and the impact of deregulation on the cost, availability and marketing of credit cards.
A comprehensive summary of plans in each state for implementation of the Help America Vote Act, focusing mainly on the issues which will most directly affect voters.
Political scientist Alec Ewald sheds new light on the fundamentally undemocratic nature of felony disenfranchisement laws. Tracing the history of these laws from ancient Europe to their racist application in the post Civil War U.S., Ewald concludes that felony disenfranchisement laws are in profound conflict with America's best ideals of fairness and traditions of democracy.
Efforts to change the long-standing practice of counting every individual in the country for the purposes of drawing legislative districts would reduce the political power of—and the resources provided to—Black and brown people.
Our analysis of voter turnout in Ohio’s primary finds large disparities in absentee ballot request rates and voter turnout between predominantly white and non-white neighborhoods.
This case study follows the coalition For Us Not Amazon (FUNA) and members of the Athena Coalition as they organized to prevent one of the biggest corporations in the world from taking over the civic, social, and political life of Northern Virginia and beyond.
