Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Democracy depends on educated votes, part 3

woman holds i voted sticker
Getty Images

David Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund

Democracy depends on educated voters. Yet too often people don’t vote because they don’t know where candidates stand on various issues and are confused about how to find out. The widespread political cynicism, disinformation, and spin that citizens are bombarded with contributes to the lack of information available to voters so they can make reasoned decisions.


To combat this problem a non-partisan group called guides.vote has created voter guides to provide a concise and credible way to compare where candidates stand on critical issues and to make clear why voting matters.

Previously, we focused on the Virginia legislature and the Kentucky governor’s race. Today we focus on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court race between Republican Carolyn Carluccio and Democrat Daniel McCaffery.

A seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is up for election on November 7, 2023. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has seven justices. Four are currently Democrats, and two are Republicans, with one open seat. This election won’t change the Democratic majority. But a Republican victory would strengthen their minority and make possible a Republican majority when the next seat is up for election. The Court’s last election was closely decided, won by less than 25,000 votes out of nearly 2.8 million cast.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decides questions of state law that often have a significant impact. In recent years, the Court:

To help you decide this election, we’ve assembled background information about the candidates’ education and previous work experience, along with public statements and publicized endorsements, to indicate how they might rule on key issues in the future.

CAROLYN CARLUCCIO

judgecarluccio.com

Carolyn Carluccio graduated from Dickinson College and earned a J.D. degree from Widener University School of Law. She has been a judge on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas since 2010 and the President Judge since 2022. She served as Assistant United States Attorney from 1989 to 1997 and was the Montgomery County Chief Public Defender from 2002 to 2006. As a volunteer, she has taught sixth graders civic education for the past ten years.

· On LGBTQ rights, “was thrilled to be” officiating a same-sex marriage.

Carluccio’s endorsements include the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania, and the County Detectives Association of Pennsylvania.

DANIEL MCCAFFERY

judgemccaffery.com

Daniel McCaffery graduated from Temple University and earned a JD degree from Temple University School of Law. He has been a judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania since 2020 and a judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas from 2014 to 2019, and was an Assistant District Attorney from 1991 to 1996. He was in private practice from 1997 to 2013. He served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve and was honorably discharged. As a volunteer for the Democratic Party, he participated in more than 50 political campaigns.

· On his judicial philosophy, “The law is the vehicle that drives society toward a more level playing field.” A Justice’s “real role is to define the relationships between government and citizens.”

McCaffery’s endorsements include the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Planned Parenthood, the Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council, Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters, and the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association.


Read More

child reading a book
silhouette of child sitting behind tree during sunset
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

The Future Of Puerto Rico: Consider Needs of The Children

When I entered my second-grade classroom in 1982 at Chicago’s Moos Elementary School, in the heart of the Puerto Rican community of Humboldt Park, I was greeted with “Mirelsie, que nombre bello, de donde tu eres?”

“Mirelsie, what a beautiful name, where are you from?”

Keep ReadingShow less
A solemn portrait of a woman looking down, bathed in dramatic light and shadow from window blinds, emphasizing solitude and deep thought in monochrome.

After the Lindsay Clancy mistrial, we must confront postpartum mental illness and ask how to better support mothers before tragedy strikes.

Viktoriya Skorikova/Getty Images

The Questions We Should Be Asking About the Lindsay Clancy Case

Three children are dead.

Nothing that follows should ever diminish that heartbreaking reality.

Keep ReadingShow less
Flag
People holding an american flag with 1776-2026
Photo by TROY ALLEN on Unsplash

Americans Stay Committed to Democracy as Confidence Declines

The Democracy for All Project, a multiyear collaboration between Gallup and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, continues its effort to understand how Americans experience democracy and how those experiences differ across communities, generations, and political identities. Its September 2026 report, Frustration Rises, Commitment Endures, draws on a survey of 23,683 U.S. adults conducted between April 24 and June 10, 2026, with a maximum margin of sampling error of ±1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level. It is the most extensive annual study of how Americans participate in and perceive the democratic system.

A Public Still Committed to Democracy—But Increasingly Disillusioned

The report finds that Americans remain committed to democracy as an ideal even as their confidence in its performance continues to erode. Two‑thirds (66%) still say democracy is the best form of government, essentially unchanged from last year. Yet assessments of how democracy is functioning have worsened: 56% now say democracy is performing poorly, up from 51% in 2025, while the share who say it is performing well has fallen to 19%. Much of this shift comes from Republicans and Republican‑leaning independents, whose views have moved closer to the more critical assessments long held by Democrats and other independents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Classsroom
empty classroom with desks and chalkboard
Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

Who Gets a Seat?: Florida’s New Bans on Undocumented Students in Public Higher Education

Each year, roughly 8,000 undocumented students graduate from Florida high schools. In 2026, Florida became the newest state to pass a regulation prohibiting this population from enrolling in state public colleges and selective universities. In June 2026, Florida State Board of Education passed Rule 6A-10.0240, which requires all 28 Florida College System institutions to certify admitted students as citizens of the United States or have lawful presence. In September 2026, a separate state board extended a similar ban to Florida’s most selective public universities.

Throughout the United States, there are three states that have historically upheld similar barring policies: Alabama and South Carolina ban undocumented students from all public colleges and universities, while Georgia bars them only from its most selective public universities. Florida’s restrictions are administrative rules and regulations, not state laws passed by the Legislature. Similar bills died in committee during Florida’s 2026 legislative session.

Keep ReadingShow less