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Thursday's Democracy Dispatches

Here are some stories we're following from across the country:

Ranked-choice voting moved one step closer to appearing as a referendum on the 2020 ballot in Massachusetts. ( Gloucester Daily Times)

Advocates for a pair of election initiatives in Portland, Maine — one to expand the use of ranked-choice voting in city elections and the other to establish a public financing system for local elections — failed to get either on the November ballot. ( Portland Press Herald)

A new group is trying to curtail the waiting period for ex-convicts to regain the right to vote in Wisconsin. ( Journal Sentinel)

Oklahoma legislative leaders have begun to outline the redistricting process that will kick off in early 2020. ( Oklahoman)

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a flag on a pole
Photo by Don Starkey on Unsplash

What Democracy Promised Us — and What We Got Instead

The Fulcrum is committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists. To learn about the many NextGen initiatives we are leading, click HERE.

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Government by “The Consent of the Governed”

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A family together in their kitchen.

Getty Images, The Good Brigade

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Unfortunately, if our leaders don’t step up, it will soon get even more difficult for families. That’s because the budget reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, now under consideration by the House of Representatives, includes critical tax changes that will leave many children, their families, and, ultimately, our communities in the lurch.

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