Modeled after faith-based services, Civic Saturday encourages civic participation by creating a space for people to discuss social change, organize to vote, and engage in other democracy and community-building activit...

Voter turnout is higher where voting is made easy. Consider one innovation: vote-by mail. States that allowed mail-in ballots had an average of 10 percent more voting in the 2016 election than other states. More innov...

If elected representatives have a few hours to speak with their constituents, where’s what they should do: discuss policy issues online with a small group of randomly selected constituents. Participants appreciate the...

Some hospitals are finding ways to help their patients vote. Penn Votes Project is an initiative between hospitals and the Penn Law School that helps patients fill out and notarize their absentee ballots. Then there’s...

Easy-to-use web apps provide information about candidates and referendums, gathering information all in one place for voters. BallotReady and We Vote are two such tools.

In the face of stricter voter ID rules, organizers are working to ensure that those deemed ineligible to vote in North Dakota because of their lack of street address - a group that is disproportionately Native America...

After a Republican led state law that bans people without an address from voting took effect, Native American tribes in North Dakota began organizing to get out the vote. They even began creating their own addresses. ...

Voter registration groups, such as Next Gen and the Florida Federation of Young Republicans, were the second most common method of getting new voters to register in Florida. To grab young voters, these organizations s...

In Minneapolis, two groups are tackling difficult conversations among polarized community members, through establishing intentional safe spaces rooted in ground rules and mutual trust. Living Room Conversations facili...

Australia maintains a high voter turnout by making voting both easy and mandatory. Election day is always on a Saturday, and community groups host barbeques to mark the occasion. If an eligible voter still doesn’t cas...

Leaders from Lancaster Stands Up, an independent political organization, are trying to bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans in small, rural, conservative towns. They’re building a progressive base by goi...

At a time when American politics are more divisive and uncivil than ever before, Revive Civility Iowa and the National Institute of Civil Discourse hosted a two hour workshop to encourage civil conversation among poli...

In Michigan, a group of people decided they were done with gerrymandering: a political process in which district maps are redrawn to favor one party over another. They formed a group called “Voters Not Politicians,” a...

Know how to register to vote? In St. Paul, your landlord is required to tell you. The city passed the ordinance to keep voter turnout high as the number of renters grew.

A digital tool called Restore Your Vote launched in the summer of 2018 to help ex-convicts understand their voting restoration status after re-integrating into society. The initiative, which has been piloted in Alabam...

West Virginia became the first state to test out voting in a federal election using blockchain technology. A pilot program allowed military voters from two counties in West Virginia to use a mobile app called Voatz in...

Having young people sign a voting pledge, and then reminding them that they signed, increased voter turnout on college campuses in Colorado and Pennsylvania in 2016. The approach was more effective than asking youth t...

German news site Zeit Online helped 600 pairs of people with opposing political views meet to discuss the issues in person. The "My Country Talks" initiative was so well-reviewed that Zeit Online is now partnering wit...

In Doña Ana County, New Mexico, boosting civic engagement is a priority. County Clerk Scott Krahling has tried several initiatives to do so, including hosting voter registration drives in schools, consolidating local ...

The ALL IN challenge implores leaders at colleges across the United States to better incorporate civic engagement education into curriculum and use non-partisan tactics to encourage students to register to vote. The r...

Thousands of Danes attend a political festival called Folkemodet every year to mingle with government ministers and corporate executives and enjoy live music, comedy, and art. The casual atmosphere allows participants...

Universities are using competitions, music, and prizes to encourage civic engagement among students. Efforts are aided by a national study that allows schools to see how many of their students voted either locally or ...

In Fairhill, a neighborhood in North Philadelphia, voter turnout was a mere 12% in one recent election. Fairhill Neighbors, a coalition of neighborhood groups, is seeking to combat lower turnout rates with a personal...

In Alabama, grassroots organizing targeting black voters resulted in a huge voter turnout. “98 percent of black women voted for Jones (Tyson’s initial estimate was conservative) along with 93 percent of black men.” “J...

POWER Northeast is trying to fight against voter disenchantment and reach the parts of the community that usually feel excluded and disillusioned by politics. This organization goes all over Allentown, Pennsylvania sp...