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Advocates are working to increase incarcerated voter engagement in San Diego. Here's how:

Katy Stegall

November 01, 2024 |

KFMB-TV |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

In San Diego County, Pillars of the Community trained people incarcerated in local jails to become “inside organizers” who can help others incarcerated there register to vote and fill out their ballots. In all, seven inside organizers helped roughly 230 people register to vote ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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Would mandatory voting work in the U.S.? Australia's success shows the way.

Dan Tucker

September 23, 2024 |

WBEZ |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Australia

Australia has compulsory voting, which means those who don’t vote in federal elections will face a small fine. After the policy was instituted in 1924, turnout for federal elections shot up from about 60% of registered voters to more than 90% and has never dropped below 89% in the century since. Proponents also say the system results in better representation that more accurately reflects the country’s demographics, and because more of the population votes, politicians must appeal to a broader electorate rather than focusing on ideological extremes.

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Despite obstacles, community organizations hold registration drives for Latino voters in Wimauma

Nancy Guan

July 19, 2024 |

WUSF |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Wimauma, Florida

To reach Spanish-speaking voters, organizers with Faith in Florida set up registration drives at community gathering places, such as the Beth-El Farmworker Ministry where many residents come to access the food pantry. Though the state recently passed legislation potentially penalizing third-party groups that submit registration applications on behalf of voters, Faith in Florida has been able to continue its registration drives by instead providing QR codes that take voters to the website where they can register themselves.

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How people in Illinois prisons lead peer-led civics education courses on voting rights

Peter Medlin

July 03, 2024 |

Northern Public Radio |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Illinois

Since 2020, more than 250 people incarcerated in Illinois prisons have been trained as peer-educators to lead civics education courses that focus on the history of voting, the logistics of voting, and the nuances of government. So far roughly 6,000 people have completed the program, which emphasizes that they are eligible to register to vote immediately after their release.

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Envelope redesign helped Pa. voters avoid errors that cost them their vote

Carter Walker

May 31, 2024 |

Votebeat Pennsylvania |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

After procedural errors such as missing dates and signatures caused a significant number of ballots to be rejected, Pennsylvania redesigned its mail ballots to emphasize the areas voters must fill out correctly for their ballot to be counted. Following the redesign, 9.6 percent fewer ballots were rejected for errors the new design tried to address, but other types of mistakes, such as voters not adding the year to the date, increased.

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How a new way to vote is gaining traction in states — and could transform US politics

Zachary Roth

December 28, 2023 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

Some states are combining ranked choice voting, which asks voters to rank candidates by order of preference, with Final Five primaries where multiple candidates advance to the general election, rather than one candidate from each major party. After implementing both reforms, Alaska saw more women run for office than in the five previous elections, and an analysis of the system found it improved representation by giving voters more choice and encouraging candidates to appeal to a wider demographic.

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Kentucky Activists Step In to Deliver on the Promise of Voting Rights Restoration

Alex Burness

October 12, 2023 |

Bolts |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentucky

After Kentucky reinstated voting rights for people convicted of nonviolent crimes who have finished their sentence, a coalition of activists and nonprofit organizations started using public records, social media, door-to-door canvassing, and other outreach methods to inform formerly incarcerated people of their rights. The effort has helped register more than 89,000 people since 2019, though advocates say the state itself could be doing much more to reach newly-enfranchised voters.

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Incarcerated people partner with state officials to encourage voter turnout in prisons

Evan Popp

September 25, 2023 |

Maine Morning Star |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Maine

In Maine, one of only two states where people in prison retain their right to vote, the Maine State Prison branch of the NAACP engages incarcerated voters through flyers, posters, guest speakers, and group discussions about political issues. Over the past two decades, the organization has helped more than 1,000 people register to vote in Maine prisons.

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Delivering Addresses (and Access) to the Navajo Nation

Peter Yeung

August 25, 2023 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Navajo Mountain, Utah

The Rural Utah Project is working to connect rural, off-the-grid residents in Navajo Mountain with fundamental services like mail, emergency medical care and voter access that they were often denied due to lacking a formally recognized address. Google’s Plus Code tool is allowing simple 10-digit codes to be generated anywhere in the world and instantly located on Google Maps. The codes can easily be looked up and doubles as a formal address in most cases.

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‘We Have a Right to Put It on the Ballot': How Organizers Are Defending Direct Democracy

Daniel Nichanian

August 16, 2023 |

Bolts |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ohio

Organizations in politically divided states like Arkansas, Idaho and Ohio are hard at work to protect direct democracy through community organizing and education. These groups have rallied to pass measures like minimum wage increases, medical marijuana and have even organized voters to fail ballot measures like Ohio’s recent Issue 1.

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