Recommendations for Implementing Jail Voting: Identifying Common Themes
This guide is intended for advocates, organizers, and practitioners working across America to facilitate the voting process for eligible voters in jails.
This guide is intended for advocates, organizers, and practitioners working across America to facilitate the voting process for eligible voters in jails. Presently, about 427,000 individuals held in local jails nationwide have not been convicted of a crime. As such, they are eligible to vote — but they often encounter a range of barriers.
As more and more legal scholars, policymakers, election officials, and advocates look to expand access to voting for jail-based populations, several of them have issued reports with recommendations and best practices. By synthesizing their various insights and proposals, we aim to provide an annotated list of all the recommendations from the reports and identify the most common ones. Organizations, practitioners, and advocates can use this guide as a centralized resource to view current best practices for jail-based voting as identified by their colleagues. While not exhaustive, this document offers a starting point for practitioners eager to engage in this work.
Can Election Facility Tours Improve Voter Confidence?
American democracy has faced a crisis of trust in elections, fueled by denialism and movements like “Stop the Steal”. Former Maricopa County recorder and Ash Senior Practice Fellow, Stephen Richer, outlines a potential solution in election administration by offering election facility tours. Finding that witnessing the election process firsthand significantly boosted trust in its integrity, highlighting transparency as a key tool to rebuild voter confidence.
The Democratic Dismantling of Democracies: How Leaders Undermine the Systems That Elect Them
A recent panel discussion explored global patterns of democratic backsliding, focusing on the experiences of Venezuela, Thailand, and the United States. Moderated by Archon Fung, director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, the conversation shared insights into how democratically elected leaders systematically erode checks and balances to consolidate power. The panelists highlighted common tactics of democratic erosion, and also strategies for safeguarding democracy.
What are conflicts of interest and what can be done about them?
In his latest article for The Conversation, Archon Fung defines “conflicts of interest,” highlights their risks to good governance, and outlines strategies to mitigate their impact.
The Democratic Dismantling of Democracies: How Leaders Undermine the Systems That Elect Them
A recent panel discussion explored global patterns of democratic backsliding, focusing on the experiences of Venezuela, Thailand, and the United States. Moderated by Archon Fung, director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, the conversation shared insights into how democratically elected leaders systematically erode checks and balances to consolidate power. The panelists highlighted common tactics of democratic erosion, and also strategies for safeguarding democracy.
What are conflicts of interest and what can be done about them?
In his latest article for The Conversation, Archon Fung defines “conflicts of interest,” highlights their risks to good governance, and outlines strategies to mitigate their impact.
From Crisis to Action: Turning the Tide on Democratic Erosion Through Organizing
In response to the recent anti-democratic patterns in the United States, the Ash Center hosted a panel of Harvard scholars to discuss how civil society can resist democratic backsliding through social mobilization and organizing.
