Associated Press
29 October 2020
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United States
National get-out-the-vote efforts are turning out people to vote, despite Covid19-related challenges. Vote Forward organized 182,000 people to participate in a 50-state letter writing campaign urging people in over 17.5 million homes to vote. “Protest to the Polls” led a voter information parade through Louisville’s predominantly Black West End. The Neighborhood Assistance Corporations of America has driven 25,000 people to the polls in three states. Other GOTV efforts include texting and phone banking, peer-to-peer outreach, drive-in rallies and caravans, and entertainment for those in line at the polls.
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/a-grass-roots-drive-for-clean-elections-in-karnataka
Ankita Rao
The New York Times
15 May 2014
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B. Godihal is one of the thousands of communities in Karnataka that have worked to hold clean elections, stirred by a confluence of awareness campaigns by nongovernmental organizations and rising public frustration with candidates’ broken promises.
http://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/ideas-steal-lower-voting-age-16
Roxanne Patel Shepelavy
The Philadelphia Citizen
22 March 2016
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In Takoma Park, Maryland, the voting age for local elections is 16. Lowering the age has increased turnout among youth—and studies show that the sooner people start to vote, the more likely they are to be lifetime voters.
http://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/ideas-we-should-steal-compulsory-voting
Emma Eisenberg
The Philadelphia Citizen
1 October 2001
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In the U.S. the electorate skews white, wealthy, and old because such demographics are more likely to vote. Creating mandatory voting laws would increase voter turnout and thus increase voting equity.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/lobbying-for-the-greater-good
David Bornstein
The New York Times
29 May 2013
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Big money has big lobbyists - but small lobbyists can also bring about big changes. Groups like Results and the Citizens Climate Lobby train ordinary people to approach and make arguments to politicians and journalists.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/enriching-voting-in-africa-by-having-candidates-debate
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
10 November 2015
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Voters tend to know a lot about presidential and local candidates but little about those in between. In Sierra Leon, an organization hosted, filmed, and then projected the debates in villages, increasing voters’ knowledge of the candidates and issues, and changing the way people voted.
http://yalibnan.com/2016/06/19/beirut-madinati-has-its-sights-on-lebanon-national-politics
Thanassis Cambanis
Ya Libnan
19 July 2016
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Arab governments have expended a lot of energy keeping politics of any stripe out of the public sphere. With a few hundred volunteers and hardly any money, an upstart campaign called Beirut Madinati — “Beirut Is My City” — is challenging the status quo, displaying the kind of savvy civic politics promised by the Arab Spring.
http://theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/02/democracy-tarnished-brand-desperate-need-reinvention
Patrick Chalmers
The Guardian
2 July 2016
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Low voter turnouts, populists offering half-truths, corporate interests, and the blurring of facts in the media are signs that democracy around the world is in turmoil. Internationally, citizens have assembled different programs and initiatives that arm ordinary people with information about policy and their elected officials, as well as distinctive ways to reform the electoral system.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04t8k2w
Kathleen Hawkins
BBC
26 February 2017
Radio / Over 15 Minutes
Voter turnout is a problem around the world, especially in local elections and among minority groups. But a small group of academics and activists in the US are experimenting with a new way to encourage people to turn up to vote: a lottery. Every voter is entered and one lucky winner gets a big cash prize, eliminating the risk of bribery and bought votes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/opinion/from-protests-past-lessons-in-what-works.html
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
31 January 2017
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As protests begin to develop nationwide in opposition to a Trump presidency, Tina Rosenberg provides key reminders on good protesting. By highlighting lessons such as diversifying tactics, generating an inclusive brand, and having a concrete plan, the author provides an informative guide of effective organizing strategies.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article118306828.html
Hedrick Smith
Sacramento Bee
1 December 2016
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For the third election in a row, House Republicans got bonus seats in 2016, through gerrymandering. Thanks to a grassroots citizen movement and computer sleuthing, Florida admitted to breaking the law and has replaced state maps with more competitive, voter-friendly districts.
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