Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Driving electoral success by making democracy delicious

Opinion

Pizza to the Polls serving food during elections

A Pizza to the Polls food truck stands ready to serve voters.

Pizza to the Polls

Noaman is the executive director of Pizza to the Polls.

After the 2020 election saw some of the longest lines at polling places in the past several elections – from New York and Texas to Georgia and Ohio – voters are proactively preparing and making plans to cast their ballots as the 2022 midterms quickly approach. With so many individuals becoming more politically involved and looking forward to voting this year, it is critical that they are supported with a functioning civic engagement ecosystem.

Feeding people and providing water keeps people in line to vote and keeps elections running smoothly.


Powering an election through food

The lack of resources provided to voters on Election Day is a critical gap in the electoral support system. However, when this gap is closed and support is provided to those in line, we see electoral success in a few key ways: greater turnout and, as a result, a more representative outcome.

When a simple snack or bottle of water is supplied, people who would have otherwise abandoned their right to vote for their basic human need to eat are able to stay in line and cast a ballot. This is critical as, historically, the United States has struggled with voter turnout. In fact, in 2020, only about 69 percent of voters cast a ballot – more than any other year but still only two-thirds of the eligible population.

According to a recent paper published by a University of Pennsylvania political scientist, every additional hour a voter waits in line decreases the probability they will vote by 1 percent. While that may seem insignificant, the paper also suggests that almost 200,000 people did not vote in 2014 because of the amount of time they had to wait in 2012.

Now, imagine if hundreds of thousands of the 69 percent who did vote in 2020 ended up going home because lines were too long and they were hungry or thirsty. Not only could that election have had different results, but the turnout for this year’s election could be compromised too.

When more people vote, the entire electoral process is able to run more smoothly. The process of voting in person is streamlined, identities have already been verified and the votes are immediately counted. However, when ballots are cast via mail or drop box they undergo several additional measures of review before being counted.

Long lines can be incredibly demoralizing to the average voter; providing food and beverages is a great way to keep people engaged and excited during an activity that often feels mundane and taxing. We know that voting is habit forming, so a good experience is crucial to guaranteeing turnout.

Everyone deserves a snack

In 2020, many organizations, such as Pizza to the Polls, successfully stepped up to support those waiting in long lines to vote. Millions of people across the country – from voters and their children to poll workers, journalists and even people passing by – were all able to enjoy refreshments and keep polling locations a place of celebration as intended.

The key to success for many of these initiatives is ensuring that all distribution takes place in a nonpartisan way, following all election compliance laws. Regardless of who you’re voting for (or if you are voting at all), everyone at polling places should have access to food and water in a safe and lawful way. This simple gesture of feeding people in long lines engages civic participants across the political spectrum, ensuring citizens do not have to choose between their civic duty and hunger.

It’s time to fuel democracy

As we look towards the 2022 elections, it’s clear the demand for these resources will once again be high. If we want to see democracy do its job this election season, supporting organizations that provide these basic needs on the ground is essential to electoral success.

Read More

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Neal Kelley

Neal Kelley, who served as the registrar of voters for Orange County, California for nearly two decades before retiring from the role in 2022.

Issue One.

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Neal Kelley

Editor’s note: More than 10,000 officials across the country run U.S. elections. This interview is part of a series highlighting the election heroes who are the faces of democracy.

Neal Kelley, a Republican, served as the registrar of voters for Orange County, California for nearly two decades before retiring from the role in 2022. Home to nearly 2 million voters, Orange County, part of the Greater Los Angeles area, is one of the largest jurisdictions by population in the country and the third largest in the state. Kelley is currently the Chair Emeritus of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, as well as the statewide project manager for the 2024-2026 elections in Hawaii.

Keep ReadingShow less
Is America Still Welcoming Global Talent?
Close up of american visa label in passport.
Getty Images/Alexander W. Helin

Is America Still Welcoming Global Talent?

A few weeks ago, when new proposals limiting J and F visa expansion were open for public comment, immigration quickly became a hot topic again at our research center, where more than half the scientists come from abroad. Some worried about their plan, others traded news and updates about the H1-B. A colleague asked if I was anxious too. To my own surprise, I wasn’t.

I used to be. But after weathering turbulent visa policies under different U.S. administrations, like many other international scholars, I have learned to stay flexible and mobile. My U.S. visa for a graduate program was delayed due to tensions between the U.S. and China several years ago. Up against a deadline for the program, I pivoted to Japan to continue the research training. What felt like a closed door became a new window: I fortunately joined a world-class team in tissue-engineering vascular medicine, broadened my view of clinical care and research, and began bridging my path as both practitioner and scientist. Committed to strengthening the “bench-to-bed” pipeline—learning real-world needs and translating research to meet them—I chose the United States again to carry this work forward.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lasting peace requires accepting Israel’s right to exist

US President Donald Trump hailed a "tremendous day for the Middle East" as he and regional leaders signed a declaration on Oct. 13, 2025, meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza, hours after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners. (TNS)

Lasting peace requires accepting Israel’s right to exist

President Trump took a rhetorical victory lap in front of the Israeli parliament Monday. Ignoring his patented departures from the teleprompter, which violated all sorts of valuable norms, it was a speech Trump deserved to give. The ending of the war — even if it’s just a ceasefire — and the release of Israel’s last living hostages is, by itself, a monumental diplomatic accomplishment, and Trump deserves to take a bow.

Much of Trump’s prepared text was forward-looking, calling for a new “golden age” for the Middle East to mirror the one allegedly unfolding here in America. I’m generally skeptical about “golden ages,” here or abroad, and especially leery about any talk about “everlasting peace” in a region that has known “peace” for only a handful of years since the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Keep ReadingShow less