Read the latest news, commentary, and analysis from the Ash Center.
Podcast
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer are joined by Jennifer Lemmerman, Chief Policy Officer at Project Bread, to discuss the impact the lapse in SNAP funding is having on individuals and families.
Newest
Media Release
Researchers from the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (Harvard Project) released a policy brief outlining how to identify lands historically belonging to Indian nations that could be returned by the U.S. federal and state government—a process commonly referred to as landback.
Q+A
With the 2022 midterm vote approaching, the issue of ballot “curing” or correcting clerical errors on ballots has garnered increased attention as some jurisdictions work to expand vote by mail, while others have sought to curb the practice.
The authors propose an alternate approach to mainstream AI practice that broadens the focus beyond algorithms viewed in isolation to processes of human-algorithm collaboration.
Commentary
Feature
Speaking in the JFK Jr. Forum, civil rights leader Maya Wiley underscored the entwined fate of democracy and racial justice
Feature
Events this week in JFK Jr. Forum examined what can be done to address grinding problems of race, internet’s power to exploit political, and cultural schisms to destructive ends.
Media Release
In Ensuring All Votes Count: Reducing Rejected Ballots, Wang and Alitamirano tackle the questions: Were mail ballots rejected at a higher rate in 2020 compared to previous years? What impact did policy changes, the political environment, and voter outreach have on mail ballot rejection rates in such an extraordinary election year?
Media Release
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School announced the appointment of former Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki as a senior fellow. Marzouki, Tunisia’s first post-Arab spring head of state will join the Ash Center’s Democracy in Hard Places initiative.
Commentary
There isn’t much we can agree on these days. But two sweeping statements that might garner broad support are “We need to fix technology” and “We need to fix democracy.”