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How to Fix America's Confusing Voting System

Aliyya Swaby Annie Waldman

September 12, 2022 |

ProPublica |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Center for Civic Design helps states simplify ballot and registration forms to make their voting processes more accessible for people with low literacy, who are more likely to struggle with the complex language of most election materials. Such reforms have led to fewer ballots being rejected, including in New York, where a redesigned absentee ballot helped the number of rejected ballots drop from 22 percent to just 4 percent.

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Youth climate councils aim to locally combat climate crisis

Marianne Dhenin

September 12, 2022 |

Prism |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Antonio, Texas

Through the San Antonio Mayor's Youth Engagement Council, students network with municipal officials, conduct research, and complete community-based projects to help them develop policy proposals around issues such as the climate crisis. Participants have organized workshops and collected food and hygiene donations to support vulnerable residents and say serving on the council has provided them a venue to work on issues that are important to them.

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Empowering female journalists for leadership roles

Noah Aderoju

September 09, 2022 |

Media Career Development Network |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

The Female Reporters Leadership Programme trains Nigerian journalists to step into leadership positions and encourage more coverage of issues affecting women and girls in their newsrooms, with instruction and mentorship around leadership skills, sexual and gender-based violence, criminal justice and more. The initiative has trained 74 fellows so far, and more than half of participants surveyed were promoted or took on additional responsibilities at work after completing the fellowship.

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The life-changing power of West Virginia's only queer youth summer camp

Nico Lang

September 07, 2022 |

Xtra |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Weston, West Virginia

The Appalachian Queer Youth Summit, West Virginia's only summer camp for LGBTQ2S+ teenagers, provides a welcoming venue for campers to explore their identities and connect with other queer youth, all while building skills in storytelling, advocacy, citizen lobbying, and knowing your rights. Participants have gone on to advocate for changes in their state, successfully driving efforts to ban conversion therapy at the municipal level, and have also formed a tight-knit community that extends beyond the camp grounds.

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How Oakland Tenants Forced Their Landlord to Turn Over the Keys

Mathilde Lind Gustavussen

August 30, 2022 |

Jacobin |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

After their landlord refused to make repairs and hiked rent, tenants in Oakland, California, staged the longest rent strike in the city’s history to decommodify their housing and begin transitioning to a tenant-controlled building.

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Democracy Reform: Ranked-Choice Voting

Jim Meigs Richard Davies

August 26, 2022 |

How Do We Fix It? |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City is among more than 55 cities, states, and counties now using ranked-choice voting, which allows residents to select a second and third choice candidate rather than choosing just one. The method was used to elect Mayor Eric Adams, with 90 percent of voters ranking more than one option on the ballot and 70 percent of those polled reporting they found the system easy to use.

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Primary Turnout Surged in Wards 7 and 8. Mail-In Voting Is a Big Reason Why.

Alex Koma

August 23, 2022 |

Washington City Paper |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Following the expansion of mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington, D.C. mailed a ballot directly to every eligible voter in its 2022 primary election. The strategy is considered a crucial factor contributing to increased voter turnout in two of the city's poorest and most underserved wards, which saw their highest percentage of eligible voters casting ballots since the 2010 primary.

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Can computer simulations help fix democracy?

Harry Stevens

August 22, 2022 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ohio

Ohio is among 11 states where voters are challenging newly-drawn political maps using algorithmic redistricting, a process that produces thousands of simulations to help show which of the potential maps are outliers and may be the result of gerrymandering. Based on this algorithmic evidence, an Ohio court ordered the state's redistricting commission to go back to the drawing board and come up with a fairer map.

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How Thai Activists Troll the Monarchy

Jasmine Chia

August 20, 2022 |

Foreign Policy |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Thailand

Constrained by the threat of lèse-majesté, a prohibition against insulting the monarchy, Thai protesters have turned to a genre of humor and satire called "kuan teen" to spark discussions about social change in their country. The campy protests, which often feature elaborate skits and over-the-top costumes, have helped normalize critical conversation around LGBTQ issues, education, and beauty standards.

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How to Beat Fake News? 'Vaccination' Could Be the Answer

Elizabeth Svoboda

August 18, 2022 |

OpenMind |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Cambridge

To "inoculate" people against mis- and disinformation, researchers developed Harmony Square, an interactive game that asks players to learn about the dangers of fake news by creating their own. The idea is that exposing people to small amounts of misleading content in a controlled environment can help them recognize it when they see it in the wild, and a survey of players showed that those who finished the game were better overall at spotting falsehoods.

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