Policy Brief
In this policy brief, Tova Wang and Melina Geser-Stark argue that while grassroots advocacy has been pivotal in advancing voting rights, it remains overshadowed by the perception that voter reform is the domain of political elites — a view this paper challenges by examining how grassroots efforts mirror modern social movements and drive the push for a more inclusive democracy.
The recent passage of major state-based voting rights legislation demonstrates the critical role grassroots organizations play in protecting and advancing U.S. democracy. In 2023, grassroots organizers, working in coalition, were instrumental in securing significant election reform and voter inclusion legislation in New Mexico and Minnesota. By documenting these landmark efforts, this paper offers a fresh perspective on how grassroots organizing can drive meaningful change in the voting rights arena.
In academic literature, news reporting, and the public consciousness, contemporary voting reform is traditionally viewed through a top-down lens, with “elite” actors—such as policy advocates, lawyers, and legislators—seen as the key drivers of change. In contrast, the role of grassroots activism in shaping contemporary voting rights reform is often overlooked. As a result, the work of organizers in legislative efforts is less understood than that of those who traditionally hold political power. However, under-resourced state-based grassroots organizations are often central to moving election reform policy. They educate constituents about policies, build networks of passionate communities, and mobilize their bases to impact policy decisions.
This paper challenges the traditional top-down approach to voting rights reform by examining how grassroots efforts often exhibit many of the features of social movements as they have been understood in scholarship and in the public mind. Historically, when we think of voting rights movements, we most often think of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s or the suffragists at the turn of the 20th century. Here, we look at how modern voting reform efforts also display key attributes of social movements.
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.
Podcast
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer are joined on Terms of Engagement by Air Traffic Controller Jack Criss to discuss the real-world impact of the ongoing shutdown.
Podcast
This week, Danielle Allen joins Archon Fung and Stephen Richer on Terms of Engagement.
Podcast
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer are joined by University of Pittsburgh’s Lara Putnam to discuss the recent No Kings protest movement.
Podcast
This week, Danielle Allen joins Archon Fung and Stephen Richer on Terms of Engagement.
Commentary
Last week’s leak of the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” drew intense reactions across academia. Critics call it government overreach threatening free expression, while supporters see a chance for reform and renewed trust between universities and policymakers. Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, director of the Democratic Knowledge Project and the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, weighs in.
