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Ballots Behind Bars

La Risa Lynch

October 24, 2020 |

The Crisis Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago Votes works to ensure access to voting for people awaiting trial in jail. In addition to registering thousands of voters, they helped pass a Cook County law designating the nation’s largest single-site detention facility as a polling place. This access enabled 1,850 people to cast their votes and about 600 people were able to take advantage of same-day registration and voting, which isn’t possible with traditional absentee ballot voting. Addressing jail-based disenfranchisement, which disproportionately impacts communities of color, gives people a voice in policies that directly impact them.

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To reclaim ancestral land, all Native Hawaiians need is a $300,000 mortgage and to wait in line for decades

Agnel Philip Rob Perez

October 24, 2020 |

Honolulu Star-Advertiser |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

A 100-year-old program provides virtually free land for Native Hawaiians to build their own home or buy one from a developer. Despite a $1/year land lease and low taxes, the program has failed to promptly provide affordable housing to lower income applicants. Many of the 23,000 applicants have been on a waitlist for decades because the focus on building subdivisions means that low-income Native Hawaiians don’t qualify for the mortgages. Advocates say scrapping the subdivision model and focusing on housing that meets the needs of lower-income applicants, such as condominiums, will reduce wait times.

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Nigerians don't trust the government to respond to emergency calls. So they created apps instead.

Innocent Chizaram Ilo

October 24, 2020 |

Rest of World |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

Fearful and distrustful of corrupt and abusive police forces, Nigerians by the thousands have downloaded locally developed mobile apps like Sety and Aabo to call friends for help during abductions or other emergencies. These first-responder apps feature panic buttons that alert contacts or people nearby during an emergency. The app makers do not share usage data, but users say they feel safer by having such apps available if they are harassed by the police or in need of protection from an attack.

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Two years in, Maryland leads most other states in use of ‘red flag' gun law

Ben Leonard

October 23, 2020 |

The Baltimore Sun |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Maryland

Two years after Maryland adopted a law allowing for court orders denying gun access to people at high risk of harming themselves or others, police and the public have invoked the law far more often than in most states with similar laws. It is difficult to prove that domestic-violence assaults or suicides have been prevented. But advocates and law enforcement officials say they have seen that effect. Research has documented that extreme-risk protection orders, as such laws are known, can prevent suicides. Credit for the law's use goes to police training and 24/7 court access for emergency hearings.

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Botswana's Radical Experiment in National Unity

Bastian Berbner

October 23, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Botswana

Botswanans have deprioritized deeply held tribal identities, created a national identity, and found societal stability by using the practice of randomly assigning civil servants to different parts of the country. Sending the over 120,000 civil servants to work away from friends and family, immersed in a new culture, has led to intercultural exchanges, new friendships, and even many marriages that resulted in children whose parents belong to different tribes. Increasing contact across tribal groups led to thousands of new personal relationships, which reduced prejudices and created a shared national culture.

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Latinos the targets of election disinformation – but activists are fighting back

Amy Yee

October 22, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States

Civic and advocacy groups fight disinformation targeted at Latinx voters and conduct voter registration and education outreach. Voto Latino encourages young people to help older relatives spot disinformation and trained its staff to spot and report it to the watchdog group, Disinfo Defense League. Social media posts then flag the information as false. Personal relationships are an effective way to counter disinformation and also help encourage people to vote. Voto Latino alone has registered over 500,000 voters since mid-2019, more than the total amount since the organization began in 2004.

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The Country Where Diversity Is Enforced by Law

Keshia Naurana Badalge

October 22, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Singapore

Singapore's Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) has prevented ethnic enclaves in the city-state through the use of quotas. The four recognized ethnicities cannot surpass the set quotas in public residential buildings, which are inhabited by 80 percent of Singaporeans, resulting in diverse apartment complexes where residents regularly interact with people from different races. Racial dynamics are regulated through government policies for the purpose of "harmonious coexistence."

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After serving prison time, these students excel in Fresno State program. How it works

Ashleigh Panoo

October 21, 2020 |

The Fresno Bee |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fresno, California

Project Rebound helps formerly incarcerated students navigate and succeed in pursuing their higher education goals. The program works with potential candidates, whether they are incarcerated or have completed their sentences, and provides aid in meeting basic needs like gas, food, shelter, as well as legal advice referrals and navigating technology. By 2021, 14 California State University campuses plan to be using the program. As of 2016, there were 180 students participating in the program and the number more than doubled by 2019.

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Their App Sends Free Mail to Incarcerated People. Now They're Helping Prisoners Register to Vote

Emily Nonko

October 20, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Ameelio is a technology startup launched by Yale students to facilitate free communication between people who are incarcerated and loved ones. In their first six months, the group went from sending 300 to over 4,000 letters a week to facilities in the United States. Their initial goal was to provide a not-for-profit alternative to the oftentimes predatory prison telecommunications industry. Recently they began a voter registration initiative where they send registration instructions, a blank voter registration application, and ballot request form to people who are incarcerated and eligible to vote.

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Billions in COVID Relief Has Gone to Farmers. Just Not Black or Family-Owned Farms in Appalachia.

Beth Ward

October 19, 2020 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentucky

Several organizations — including the Kentucky Black Farmer Fund, Community Farm Alliance, and Black Soil: Our Better Nature — are working together to provide disaster relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic to Black farmers. They’ve been able to award 43 small farms with a one-time payment of up to $750, which was used to purchase equipment or personal protective equipment. That amount can only help them so much, but it’s a step in helping Black farmers receive federal aid, which they historically have been left out of.

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