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Democracy on the (Down) Ballot: Unpacking the Midterms, Voting Rights, and Local Electoral Reforms

During the 2022 midterms, voters not only cast a ballot to decide the balance of power in congress, but in in many states voters decided on a range of consequential ballot initiatives impacting the nuts and bolts of the electoral process including voter-ID laws, party primary reform, ranked choice voting, and proportional representation. The outcomes of these statewide and local level ballot initiatives have direct implications for future elections and participatory democracy.

This midterm recap webinar goes beyond the candidate horse race and focus on analysis and perspectives from advocates and scholars on recent voting-related ballot initiatives, immediate implications for future elections, and what’s ahead for emerging electoral reforms at the state and local level. See panelists Deb Otis, Director of Research at FairVote; Jenny Lee, Deputy Director of the Coalition of Communities of Color; and Wendy Underhill, Director of Elections and Redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Ash Center Reimagining Democracy Fellow Nick Chedli Carter moderated.

Programs

Reimagining Democracy Program

Issues

Institutional Reforms, Voting and Elections

Related Resources

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Reframing Efficiency: How Public Deliberation Strengthens Public Health Policy

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Terms of Engagement – How to Be a Dissident in an Age of Fear
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Podcast

Terms of Engagement – How to Be a Dissident in an Age of Fear

What does it take to stand up for what you believe in when your personal safety, security and even liberty are at stake? Ami Fields-Meyer, a political strategist and former senior policy advisor in the Biden-Harris White House, joins Terms of Engagement hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to speak about speaking out in tumultuous times.

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A collage of book and report recommendations from the Terms of Engagement summer reading list.

Feature

Terms of Engagement Summer Reading List

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Feature

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Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends

Commentary

Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends

Allen Lab Fellow Tyler Fisher examines the untapped potential of city charters as a vehicle for deliberative democracy, arguing that advocates should work to embed tools like citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, and town meetings directly into the governing architecture of cities, institutionalizing deliberative democracy one municipality at a time.