Podcast
Wait, Wait — What Happened?
Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer look back at the last five months of headlines as they celebrate the twentieth episode of Terms of Engagement.
Policy Brief
Celebrities Strengthening Our Culture of Democracy
This study provides an analysis and evaluation of how celebrity engagement impacts civic participation in the United States. When and why do celebrities decide to use their influence to encourage civic engagement? What difference do their actions make?
A healthy democracy can be measured in many ways, with a core marker being the level of engagement in the process of electing public representatives. Unfortunately, despite record-breaking voter participation levels in recent elections, the United States still ranks 31st out of 50 developed nations in terms of eligible voter participation. Lagging voter engagement and rising distrust of political institutions weaken our democracy.
Today, many celebrities are involved in efforts to help boost civic interest, engagement, and participation while building goodwill with their fans. Celebrities, defined broadly as famous people, are distinctively positioned to tackle this critical issue because of their ability to garner media coverage, attract large crowds, reach their fans, and influence society.
This study focuses specifically on what celebrities are doing and can do, to promote voter participation, including voter education and mobilization efforts. However imperfectly, the impact of these efforts can be measured by examining whether they lead people to take actions related to voting, such as registering to vote, requesting a ballot, and casting a ballot.
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Is Fusion Voting Fair?
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer discuss whether fusion voting expands representation and strengthens smaller parties—or whether it muddies party lines and confuses voters.
Podcast
Wait, Wait — What Happened?
Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer look back at the last five months of headlines as they celebrate the twentieth episode of Terms of Engagement.
Podcast
Is America Ready to Vote by Phone?
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer are joined by Michelle Feldman, political director at Mobile Voting, a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative working to make voting easier with expanded access to mobile voting.
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Is Fusion Voting Fair?
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer discuss whether fusion voting expands representation and strengthens smaller parties—or whether it muddies party lines and confuses voters.