Pa. counties call $45 million in state election grants a success: “Absolutely it was useful”

Democracy Vouchers, a tax-payer-funded program that sends four $25 certificates to residents to donate to local candidates, made Seattle the national leader by increasing the percent of the electorate donating to local campaigns to nearly 8%. They also allow more non-establishment candidates, who lack connections to wealthy donors, to run for office. Four of the nine 2019 city council candidates used vouchers to help fund their campaigns and the vouchers are being expanded to the city’s mayoral races. A national pilot program was also approved to try vouchers for congressional candidates in three states.

To encourage in-person absentee voting, one Wisconsin County offered up special funding to municipalities to offset administrative costs, allowing many to extend their early voting hours and bring on additional help. More than 13,000 county residents cast absentee ballots in person in the most recent election, which is almost triple the number cast by the same point in the 2023 voting cycle.

The transit authority in Cleveland, Ohio, is offering a microtransit shuttle service for employees who work in locations with limited or no public transit. Rides are free and set up on an as-needed basis via an app.

In the 2020 Wisconsin primary, increased mail-in voting overwhelmed the system and last-minute decisions to vote by mail led to voter confusion. This increased ballot rejections, which can systematically disenfranchise some populations. Learning from these failures, officials will send absentee voting guidelines and applications to 2.6 million voters and use barcodes to track ballots. Due to mail delivery issues, officials also publicly urged voters to request and submit ballots well before the deadline. Critics believe the state could do much more to make voting safe and easy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

European countries like France and Germany have been able to keep their unemployment rates low because of pre-existing programs that have been called to action during COVID-19. In France, the government subsidizes up to 84% of wages to incentive companies not to lay their employees off. In Germany, their short-time work program pays up to two-thirds of employee pay. While not an inexpensive method, some say it could help their economies replenish quicker after the pandemic.

An anti-violence program in Chicago called the Rapid Employment and Development Initiative, or READI, identifies and engages with those most vulnerable to partake or be a victim of gun violence, and provides them with the support they need to avoid it. Born out of a collaboration between the University of Chicago’s Crime and Education Lab and various philanthropical efforts, READI gives participants job counseling and therapy to cope with current and past traumas. While it’s seen demonstrable success, it hopes to expand with the financial support from the city.

The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration is a new project that hopes to help counteract the loss of jobs and income due to automation and technology. The project will give a random sample of residents money each month ('basic income') and they will track what these individuals spend the extra money on.

Monthly unemployment checks are dissuading individuals from finding work for fear that their work will pay less. Oulu, Finland is testing out 'basic income' where everyone receives a government cheque, to encourage people to work without fear of losing their monthly assistance.

Across the country, new criminal justice campaigns are seeking to redefine how criminal records are both accessed and interpreted. Given that current crime histories fail to denote context and stories of culmination, these new products are seeking to both delay the effect criminal convictions have, as well as reshape how criminal records are recorded.

Sacramento’s Cannabis Opportunity and Racial Equity program is helping people who were adversely affected by discrimination during America’s war on drugs to start businesses in the regulated cannabis industry. Qualifying entrepreneurs receive wraparound support including funding and small-business education. So far, 10 dispensary licenses have been awarded to participants.