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States and Cities Working to Boost Voter Turnout

It’s easier than ever to vote this year, thanks to actions by cities and states to facilitate mail ballots and early voting. Some are getting quite creative, like the “Vote Mobile” trailers in Santa Cruz, CA, and drive-through voting in Harris County, TX. As we approach the 2020 election during a pandemic that is causing…

Increasing Voter Turnout in Local Elections  

Voter turnout in local elections is often much lower than in national elections, especially among minorities and young people. What can communities do to encourage higher levels of voter participation?

Groups Working to Inform and Empower Voters in 2024

It’s an understatement to say it’s important for everyone to vote in this year’s presidential election. The good news is that there are hundreds of organizations working to promote the vote, applying lessons learned from past elections and past successes. Taking this voting imperative a step further, other organizations are centering the voter experience by…

Growing Voters in the Classroom and Beyond

We cannot expect young people to turn 18, be handed a voter registration form, and automatically become informed, engaged, and motivated voters. Civic attitudes and electoral processes must be learned—not just the how, but the why of our democracy, which is only strong and sustainable when all people are educated and empowered to participate.

Systemic Solutions for Dismantling the American Gerontocracy

Throughout U.S. history, young people have faced systematic exclusion from the political process. To tackle this issue, we need to confront the reality that young people are not uninterested, but disenfranchised, and start acknowledging how past and present government policy negatively affects their participation in elections.

Civic Journalism: New and Improved Local News

Sadly, hundreds of newspapers and other local news sources have closed in the past couple of decades. The good news is that many communities are seeing the emergence of new sources of local news, and many of these new sources are focusing on the positive, not following the long-held news criteria of “if it bleeds,…

A Framework for Building Trust with Communities

Building and keeping public trust takes a dedicated team that is willing to do the work to drive the momentum forward, manage crises effectively, and keep the focus on our public service mission. The question, “Why should I trust you?” should be top of mind daily to journalists, who must be responsive in order to be successful in their work.

Building a Quantitative Measure of Civic Infrastructure

Existing measures of civic engagement have centered on individual behavior and activity. A more useful way to understand civic engagement in a community context is by considering individual engagement as well as the extent to which communities can organize themselves to access resources and secure the services needed by their residents.

Democracy Innovations on Capitol Hill: Report from the first annual international Legislators’ Forum on Innovations in Democracy

At a meeting of lawmakers from around the world, participants shared findings and stories from their work to engage community members in more productive, civil, and meaningful ways.

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