Podcast
This week on Terms of Engagement, Miles Rapoport joins cohosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss universal voting in the United States. Rapoport is the co-author, with E.J. Dionne, of 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting. He serves as Executive Director of the 100% Democracy Initiative and discusses its mission to promote voting as both a fundamental right and a civic responsibility. He also examines the outcomes of universal voting in countries where participation in elections is mandatory. This week’s episode is a prerecorded show that will air at its regular time on Tuesday, October 13th, at 12:15 PM ET.
Coming soon!
Prior to becoming the Executive Director of 100% Democracy, Miles was a Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center of the Harvard Kennedy School from 2017-2022. Earlier, he served five terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives, from 1984 to 1994, chairing the committee on elections. He was Connecticut Secretary of the State from 1995 to 1998, leading multiple initiatives to expand voting and participation. He was President of Dēmos from 2001 to 2014, and President of Common Cause from 2014 to 2016. He is the co-author, with Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, of 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting, published in March of 2022 by the New Press.
Archon Fung is the Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. His research explores policies, practices, and institutional designs that deepen the quality of democratic governance with a focus on public participation, deliberation, and transparency. He has authored five books, four edited collections, and over fifty articles appearing in professional journals. He received two S.B.s — in philosophy and physics — and his Ph.D. in political science from MIT.
Stephen Richer is the former elected Maricopa County Recorder, responsible for voter registration, early voting administration, and public recordings in Maricopa County, Arizona, the fourth largest county in the United States. Prior to being an elected official, Stephen worked at several public policy think tanks and as a business transactions attorney. Stephen received his J.D. and M.A. from The University of Chicago and his B.A. from Tulane University. Stephen has been broadly recognized for his work in elections and American Democracy. In 2021, the Arizona Republic named Stephen “Arizonan of the Year.” In 2022, the Maricopa Bar Association awarded Stephen “Public Law Attorney of the Year.” In 2023, Stephen won “Leader of the Year” from the Arizona Capitol Times. And in 2024, Time Magazine named Stephen a “Defender of Democracy.”
The views expressed on this show are those of the hosts alone and do not necessarily represent the positions of the Ash Center or its affiliates.
Coming Soon!
Podcast
High voter turnout is often celebrated as a sign of a healthy democracy, with election officials viewing strong participation as evidence of public engagement and political legitimacy. On Terms of Engagement, Professor Jason Brennan joins cohosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to examine whether higher turnout actually strengthens democracy.
Commentary
In this opinion piece, Audrey Feldman, Todd Rogers and Ben Valenta — participants in the Sports, Democracy and Civic Health project — describe their findings showing that shared fandom can soften partisan animosity and make political opponents more willing to connect.
Q+A
New research from More in Common explores how sports connect Americans across differences and strengthen their community ties.
