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Referendum will decide on a citizenship requirement for voting in Alabama

The Alabama legislature has cleared a bill that would amend the state constitution to clarify who is allowed to vote. The Republican-written measure, which will require voter approval in November 2020, would change the constitution to say "only a citizen of the United States" rather than "every citizen of the U.S." has the right to vote in one of the reddest states in the country.

This is one of the first statewide referendums set for next year. Joshua Jones of Citizen Voters, which is promoting the idea, says the measure is needed to ensure that only American citizens are allowed to vote. While federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting in congressional and presidential elections, some communities – including San Francisco – have expanded voting to non-citizens in certain local elections.


Voters in North Dakota approved a similar constitutional amendment in 2018 and comparable initiatives are being proposed in Colorado and Florida.

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Chicago South Siders impacted by air pollution can help shape future environmental policy
factory chimney emitting smoke
Photo by Ria on Unsplash

Chicago South Siders impacted by air pollution can help shape future environmental policy

Communities in the southwest and southeast sides of Chicago impacted by the adverse effects of air pollution from truck traffic, warehouses, and factory operations have the opportunity to change their future. But what exactly are they experiencing, and how can they change it?

For the greater part of the last year, officials, including State Sen. Javier Cervantes (D-1) and 12th Ward Ald, Julia Ramirez and others from organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund have been drafting Senate Bill 838. The bill aims to curb environmental injustices, such as air pollution caused by heavy truck traffic and industrial practices, that overburden Chicago’s Southwest and Southeast communities.

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Moderate voices are vanishing. Here’s how to get them back.
Moderate voices are vanishing. Here’s how to get them back.

Moderate voices are vanishing. Here’s how to get them back.

Fifty years ago this month, the US Congress established the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which brings together service-minded college juniors who span the ideological spectrum – from Neil Gorsuch, now a Supreme Court Justice, to Stacey Abrams, founder of Fair Fight, to Bill Gates, who served as the Chair of Maricopa County Board of Supervisors during the 2020 presidential election. The scholarship is intended to serve as a living memorial to our 33rd President’s commitment to public service by building a diverse community committed to upholding public institutions.

After receiving the scholarship in 1997, I spent two intense summers with my fellow Trumans, soaking in diverse viewpoints, debating policy, wrestling with ethical dilemmas, and dreaming about how we might serve our country. During the Clinton impeachment's seemingly unprecedented partisan tensions, we discussed running on cross-partisan slates – not promising to always agree, but committing to respectful engagement and understanding our differences. Twenty-five years later, watching my 17-year-old son write about losing his faith in politics, I wonder what happened to that vision.

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After 2024, Republicans Ought to Want to Abolish the Electoral College Too
a person is casting a vote into a box

After 2024, Republicans Ought to Want to Abolish the Electoral College Too

January 6th this year marked not just the anniversary of the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol four years ago, but the actual counting of the electoral votes in Congress (by the loser of the presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris). Last month, three Senate Democrats presented a bill to abolish the Electoral College. It’s a pity they couldn’t secure a couple of Republican cosponsors. Because it’s quite conceivable this time around that Donald Trump might have decisively won the nationwide popular vote – but nevertheless lost in the Electoral College. The same thing that happened to Democrats in 2000 and 2016 might well have happened to the GOP in 2024.

Let’s take a look at the math. If candidate Harris had held the line in her three “Blue Wall” states, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, she would have captured the presidency. Instead, she lost all three. But by how much?

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