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South Africans say apps step in where government fails

Kim Harrisberg

August 17, 2022 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: South Africa

Apps are providing vital services when the South African government is unable to do so. From informing citizens of power cuts to filling in potholes and seeking mental health, these citizen-build resources are addressing community issues and even creating employment opportunities.

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TIRRC Votes harnesses "Black and brown political power"

Dulce Torres Guzman

August 15, 2022 |

Tennessee Lookout |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Tennessee

Ahead of Tennessee's August 2022 primary, organizations such as TIRRC (Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition) Votes and the Effendi Foundation targeted their outreach toward immigrant communities to increase turnout in key elections, resulting in wins for several TIRRC-endorsed candidates. The organizations relied on culturally-relevant strategies, including employing engagement coordinators from multiple countries, bringing candidates to speak at local mosques, and using community-specific language in written outreach.

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The Democracy Deficit

Ravi Agrawal

August 09, 2022 |

Foreign Policy |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: France

In response to the yellow vest movement, France decided to experiment with "open democracy" by convening the French Citizens Convention on Climate, which asked 150 randomly-selected citizens to consider ways for the country to curb greenhouse gas emissions. With the help of more than 100 experts, the convention developed 149 recommendations that were used as the basis for France's most ambitious climate legislation proposal to date.

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Black and Hispanic Students Find Their Voice Through Civics Education in Sacramento

Srishti Prabha

August 08, 2022 |

The Observer |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Sacramento, California

Sacramento's Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center offers a civics education program where students of color can learn about movements spearheaded by marginalized people, connect with like-minded peers interested in making change, and develop their voices as advocates. Students have gone on to intern at City Hall, advocate for issues like improved WiFi access and higher teacher pay, and even work for the center themselves.

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Is police accountability working in San Francisco?

Eleni Balakrishnan

August 04, 2022 |

Mission Local |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

After San Francisco voters approved the creation of a new Department of Police Accountability to investigate allegations of police misconduct, the body recommended discipline for officers at a higher rate than the state average in 2021. But the majority of cases are still settled in favor of officers and 66 percent of civilian complainants reported being dissatisfied with the outcome of their case, an outcome experts and former employees of the DPA attribute to a lack of independent authority and leadership to wield the agency's powers.

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‘Better for democracy': Two US cities offer Arabic voting ballots

Ali Harb

August 03, 2022 |

Al Jazeera |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Michigan

Municipal officials in two southeast Michigan communities exercised their local governing power to bypass federal voting legislation that does not include Arab Americans among the "disenfranchised communities" with a right to receive election ballots in their first language. Through a city council resolution and collaboration among county officials, the Michigan Secretary of State, and Dominion Voting Systems, the cities offered Arabic ballots for the 2022 state primary, which is thought to be the first example of Arabic-language ballots being offered in a state-organized election in the United States.

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For the many or the few?

Jenna Spinelle

August 01, 2022 |

When the People Decide |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Florida

In Florida, formerly incarcerated people were at the forefront of efforts to rally support for a ballot initiative to allow residents with certain felony convictions back into the voting booth. Amendment 4 was successfully passed, restoring voting rights for many formerly incarcerated Floridians, and research studying other ballot initiatives in the United States has shown that these direct referendums have given the majority of the country's population policies that they approve of.

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Group seeks to turn Arizona's primaries into nonpartisan elections

Caitlin Schmidt

July 30, 2022 |

Arizona Daily Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

States such as Washington and California have nonpartisan "top-two" primaries, in which the top two vote getters move on to the general election regardless of their party affiliation. In Washington, voter turnout in primary elections has jumped from 18 percent in 2003, before the law went into effect, to nearly 55 percent in 2020.

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‘It's a beautiful thing': how one Paris district rediscovered conviviality

Peter Yeung

July 14, 2022 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France, Paris

The République des Hyper Voisins, or the Republic of Super Neighbors, is an experiment organized by residents of Paris's 14th arrondissement to encourage community engagement, combat social isolation, and improve how the neighborhood functions. The group has organized mutual aid efforts, installed compost collection points, facilitated the launch of a new health clinic, and given residents opportunities to weigh in on local development projects.

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In California Cities, a New Frontier for Public Financing of Elections

Spenser Mestel

July 13, 2022 |

Bolts |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

To give less affluent political hopefuls a fighting chance in local races, Seattle's "democracy vouchers" program provides each resident with four $25 vouchers to donate to candidates of their choice. The initiative has nearly doubled the number of candidates running for city positions since 2015, and those using the vouchers are more likely than cash donors to be young and low-income, leading other cities, such as Oakland, Calif., to consider adopting similar programs.

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