Video  

Democracy on the (Down) Ballot: Unpacking the Midterms, Voting Rights, and Local Electoral Reforms

During the 2022 midterms, voters not only cast a ballot to decide the balance of power in congress, but in in many states voters decided on a range of consequential ballot initiatives impacting the nuts and bolts of the electoral process including voter-ID laws, party primary reform, ranked choice voting, and proportional representation. The outcomes of these statewide and local level ballot initiatives have direct implications for future elections and participatory democracy.

This midterm recap webinar goes beyond the candidate horse race and focus on analysis and perspectives from advocates and scholars on recent voting-related ballot initiatives, immediate implications for future elections, and what’s ahead for emerging electoral reforms at the state and local level. See panelists Deb Otis, Director of Research at FairVote; Jenny Lee, Deputy Director of the Coalition of Communities of Color; and Wendy Underhill, Director of Elections and Redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Ash Center Reimagining Democracy Fellow Nick Chedli Carter moderated.

More on this Issue

Voter Experience Summit Recap

Commentary

Voter Experience Summit Recap

Allen Lab Fellow Hillary Lehr convened a Voter Experience Summit at Harvard’s Ash Center in March, bringing together 25 cross-sector experts to rigorously map the voter journey. This essay explores how that collaborative process could lay the groundwork for new interventions to understand and improve the experience of voting for all.

VIDEOS: After Neoliberalism From Left to Right

Additional Resource

VIDEOS: After Neoliberalism From Left to Right

After Neoliberalism: From Left to Right brought together hundreds of leading economists, political scientists, journalists, writers and thinkers from across the political spectrum to explore and debate emerging visions for the future of the political economy.

Panel videos below.

The Present — and Future — of Alternatives to Police

Commentary

The Present — and Future — of Alternatives to Police

Allen Lab Affiliate Benjamin A. Barsky examines alternative emergency response programs — arguing for a democratic model of public safety governance in which responses to nonviolent incidents are shared across government and civil society rather than dominated by police.