• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Newsletter>

Anger, not panic, from advocates as Senate GOP proposes no more election aid

The Fulcrum
July 28, 2020

News


Anger, not panic, from advocates as Senate GOP proposes no more election aid

There's not a dime for creating a safer and smoother election in the Senate Republican economic stimulus proposal — which has voting rights groups, democracy reform advocates and some election administrators professing outrage and frustration, but not panic just yet.

The roughly $1 trillion package, unveiled Monday and blessed by the Trump administration, is essentially the GOP's opening bid for negotiations with the Democratic House. It has voted for $3 trillion more in coronavirus recovery funds including $3.6 billion for states to make their November contest healthy, comprehensive and reliable despite the pandemic.

Securing significant aid for the states — mainly so they can accommodate a guaranteed surge in voting by mail — has become good-governance lobbyists' singular focus during the public health emergency. They remain cautiously optimistic the ultimate bipartisan deal this summer will include several hundred million beyond the $400 million they secured this spring, banking that the pleadings of election officials in many red states will outweigh President Trump's unfounded allegations about the fraudulent evils of mail voting.

Keep reading...

Democracy reform groups have work to do on diversity, study finds

For anyone who has attended events featuring the key players in democracy reform groups, your eyes and ears tell you what a new diversity study documents: They're mostly old, white and left-leaning.

But the Bridge Alliance, a coalition of about 100 groups promoting healthy self-governance, says that actually conducting the study was important so that fix-the-system groups can know precisely where they stand and chart a more diverse path forward.

Beyond the findings, Bridge Alliance leaders announced two initiatives on Monday to help groups expand their diversity — one focused on professional development and the other on boosting pay.

Keep reading...

Texas joins election rule mainstream one way: Early voting

Texans have not gotten any relief from some of the strictest vote-by-mail limits in the country, but now they will have the ability to cast ballots in person for almost three weeks ahead of the election.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday cited the complications of the coronavirus pandemic, which has surged in his state this month, in adding six days to the state's period for early voting.

The decision by the GOP governor was not a big surprise, because he'd lengthened early voting for this month's primary runoff and signaled he would do so for the fall. Nonetheless, it stands out because Republicans in charge in Austin have fought so many efforts by voting rights groups to broaden enfranchisement — and anything that could boost turnout is likely to benefit Democrats.

Keep reading...

Podcast playlist: The people who choose the president

Three weeks ago the Supreme Court decided what had once seemed like an obscure corner of constitutional law, but which might have huge ramifications for this year's presidential election and beyond: The court ruled unanimously that states could punish or remove members of the Electoral College who refuse to vote for the candidate they were pledged to support.

The "faithless elector" decision is the topic of the latest installment of our podcast partnership with The Democracy Group, a podcast network at Penn State University, to share thought-provoking discussions about efforts to fix the American political system.

Keep reading...

Debate

We asked Americans how to fix democracy. Here's what they said.

"Eighty percent of Americans view our democracy as either 'in crisis' or 'facing serious challenges,'" according to a new Public Agenda report.

Community

National Business Network Call

Hear Jeff Clements, co-founder and president, speak about American Promise's 2020 strategy and the importance of its National Business Network. Learn about how the powerful business voice is uniquely positioned to help change campaign finance law.

From Your Site Articles
  • Texas to begin early in-person voting next week - The Fulcrum ›
  • Enthusiasm leads to long lines for early voting - The Fulcrum ›
  • Enthusiasm leads to long lines for early voting - The Fulcrum ›
  • Podcast playlist: What's next for democracy? - The Fulcrum ›

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Your Take: Bank failures, protection and regulation

Our Staff
3h

Threats against Michigan women leaders highlight ongoing concerns over political violence

Barbara Rodriguez, The 19th
4h

Reframing judicial elections — not “who should we elect,” but “why should we elect them at all?”

Alexander Vanderklipp
16 March

Seven Days in March

Lawrence Goldstone
16 March

Video: Modernizing Congress: The business case to upgrade government

Our Staff
16 March

Something is horribly, horribly wrong

Debilyn Molineaux
15 March
Videos

Video: A conversation with Tiahna Pantovich

Our Staff

Video: What would happen if Trump was a third-party candidate in 2024?

Our Staff

Video: How the Federal Reserve is the shadow branch of the government

Our Staff

Video: 2023 National Week of Conversation

Our Staff

Video: Bipartisan lunch with lawmakers: Making elections work better in PA

Our Staff

Video: Antisemitism and its impacts

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: A tricky dance

Our Staff
14 March

Podcast: Kevin, Tucker and wokism, oh my!

Debilyn Molineaux
David Riordan
13 March

Podcast: Civic learning amid the culture wars

Our Staff
13 March

Podcast: Winning legislative majorities

Our Staff
09 March
Recommended
Your Take: Bank failures, protection and regulation

Your Take: Bank failures, protection and regulation

Your Take
Threats against Michigan women leaders highlight ongoing concerns over political violence

Threats against Michigan women leaders highlight ongoing concerns over political violence

Big Picture
Video: A conversation with Tiahna Pantovich

Video: A conversation with Tiahna Pantovich

Reframing judicial elections — not “who should we elect,” but “why should we elect them at all?”

Reframing judicial elections — not “who should we elect,” but “why should we elect them at all?”

Judicial
Seven Days in March

Seven Days in March

Threats to democracy
Video: Modernizing Congress: The business case to upgrade government

Video: Modernizing Congress: The business case to upgrade government

Congress