Feature
Tova Wang, director of research projects in democratic practice at the Ash Center, shares her top picks for summer reads focused on making democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.
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If we want to fix our democracy, we have to look closely at how we connect with one another, whether that’s through structural reforms to our voting systems or the community we build at a sporting event. To help spark new ideas on how we participate in public life, the Reimagining Democracy Program’s Tova Wang shares a curated list of books, articles, reports, and podcasts to check out this summer.
David Sikorjak and Ben Valenta
This book provides data and real examples of how sports build community, social connection, and increased trust in ways that benefit us individually and as a society. Reading this was transformative for me — everything that I had ever intuited about the power of sports had well-conducted research and data to back it up. It is a very enjoyable read for any sports fan.
More in Common
Following up on the work by Sikorjak and Valenta, the fantastic organization More in Common conducted a survey on how sports fans differ from casual or non-sports fans in their values and civic engagement. Without giving away too many spoilers, the report provides data showing how big sports fans vote more, are more willing to talk to people across political divides, and score higher on many other metrics of greater civic health and social bonds.
Guy-Uriel Charles, Michael Latner, and Luis Fuentes-Rohwer
Professor Guy-Uriel Charles at Harvard Law School has been a friend and colleague for over 20 years and is one of our nation’s most brilliant legal scholars on the Voting Rights Act, among other issues. In this piece, he explains his view of what should come next now that the Supreme Court has eviscerated this historic piece of legislation, pointing toward structural fixes like proportional representation. His new edited volume, “America Unfinished,” is also just days away from publication. I legitimately can’t wait.
Daniel Stid
Daniel Stid has been a leader in the democracy space for many years, currently serving as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. I find him to be one of the most thoughtful, insightful, and creative thinkers and writers on a range of topics, including the role of philanthropy in our democracy. He consistently gets me to think about things in a new way, broadening my perspective and understanding. And now he has a podcast, too!
Dakota Hall
Dakota Hall is one of our most thoughtful leaders when it comes to youth attitudes, behavior, and voter engagement. Read this newsletter for a substantive and nuanced understanding of Gen Z politics in 2026 and beyond.
Tova Wang is the Director of Research Projects in Democratic Practice at the Ash Center. A longtime leader in election reform and increasing political participation among marginalized groups, she previously directed policy and research at the Center for Secure and Modern Elections and authored The Politics of Voter Suppression.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the positions of the Ash Center or its affiliates.
Podcast
On this week’s episode of “Terms of Engagement,” Assistant Professor Joshua Ferrer joins co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss his research and explore whether election officials should be elected or appointed.
Podcast
On this week’s episode of “Terms of Engagement,” Miles Rapoport, former Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center, joins cohosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss universal voting in the United States.
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.
Paper
Members of the Ash Center’s Executive Session on Elections and Election Administration present a comprehensive strategy to recruit, support, and retain election administrators by reducing barriers to entry, strengthening professional networks, improving workplace support, and utilizing workforce data address burnout and prevent attrition.
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.
Additional Resource
The Shorenstein Center’s 2026 Voting Information Trends project—developed in collaboration with the National Internet Observatory at Northeastern University, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation’s Program on Democracy and the Informed Public, and The Civic Health and Institutions Project—provides new insights into the voter information landscape in the United States ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Among the resources, an interactive dashboard maps where Americans are finding voting information and learning about key aspects of the voting process—from sourcing polling locations to voter registration. Also included are a series of trends reports gauging perceptions of voting in the lead up to the 2026 midterm elections.
