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.
New York, NY — Provisional ballots could again be a leading concern at the polls this year, with new figures showing one in three — more than 650,000 of 2 million cast--were left uncounted or discarded in 2004, according to a new briefing paper by Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy and research center.
Cindy Zeldin, Federal Affairs Coordinator for the Economic Opportunity Program, writes that mega-retailer's abandonment of traditional health insurance in favor of high-deductible health insurance takes the benefits squeeze to a whole new level: it puts a dagger through the heart of the very concept of insurance.
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.
New York, NY — Millions of eligible voters could lose their right to vote in coming years if new state and national photo identification and proof of citizenship requirements for voting are implemented, according to a new briefing paper published by Demos, a national public policy and research center. The paper, part of Demos' 2006 Challenges to Fair Elections Series, offers evidence that new and prospective voter ID requirements, in states and on the national level, have been advanced without adequate consideration of facts or the potential impact on voting rights.
Gen Y is the first generation to really bear the weight of college expenses through loans instead of grants and other financial aid. This, combined with credit card debt, is leaving cash-strapped college grads in bleak financial situations ... often ending in bankruptcy.
New York, NY — Economic Opportunity and a healthy democracy should be central focuses of America's political debate, according to a new policy briefing book published today by Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, a national, non-partisan public policy, research and advocacy organization.
Americans in their 20s - those broadly defined as ‘Generation Y' - are supposed to be more concerned about weighty issues like world affairs, local politics, and the environment than their ‘Gen X' predecessors. But they've also distinguished themselves another way: They're the most leveraged generation in American history, and they have, for the most part, the cost of their college education to thank for that distinction.
Cleveland, OH —A federal lawsuit filed in Cleveland today charges that Ohio's Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, and the Director of its Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS), Barbara Riley, have violated the rights of thousands of low-income Ohioans by failing to provide voter registration opportunities in public assistance offices as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The NVRA is a federal law enacted 13 years ago to encourage voter registration and turnout in elections.
Cleveland, OH — A federal lawsuit filed in Cleveland today charges that Ohio's Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, and the Director of its Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS), Barbara Riley, have violated the rights of thousands of low-income Ohioans by failing to provide voter registration opportunities in public assistance offices as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The NVRA is a federal law enacted 13 years ago to encourage voter registration and turnout in elections.
New York, NY — Demos, a leading national public policy organization, denounced the passage of the House of Representatives bill (H.R. 4844) also known as the "Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006," which would require all voters to obtain and present government-issued photo ID by 2008, and present proof of citizenship before voting in 2010.
Many college graduates worry about their finances as they begin their professional careers in the red - a place where if they don't get a hold of their debt they may stay for years to come.
New York, NY — Today marks the publication of a groundbreaking new book on the moral landscape of America, THE MORAL CENTER: How We Can Reclaim Our Country from Die-Hard Extremists, Rogue Corporations, Hollywood Hacks, and Pretend Patriots (Harcourt Press, September 11, 2006; ISBN 0-15-101151-6; $24.00), by David Callahan, co-founder and Senior Fellow at Demos, a national public policy organization. In THE MORAL CENTER, Callahan argues that nothing's the matter with Kansas: Americans voting their values are responding to a real moral crisis.
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.
Draut is one of the experts who claims the problem has reached "epidemic" proportions - yet the issue continues to worsen as more and more graduates and young people find themselves drowning in debt.
As more and more young people get in too deep, students, parents, educators and lawmakers are proposing solutions. The seeds of a grassroots activist movement against debt are being sown. But is it too little, too late?
New York, NY — The organizations listed below respectfully submitted public comments today seeking improvements in draft New York State Database Regulations.
For too many grads, though, "the 'debt for diploma' system" makes starting-out responsibility, financially speaking, very difficult, says Draut. The shift from free grants to loans since the early '90s has more than doubled the debt burden of grads who borrow to go to school. That's why it's important to learn to calculate for the real world so you can fulfill the high expectations that motivated you to go to college in the first place.
Draut estimates 25 cents out of every dollar earned by indebted graduates goes to pay off credit cards or loans, for a total debt load of about $20,000 per person.
