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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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​Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders in Quantico, Va., on Sept. 30, 2025.

The Military’s Diversity Rises out of Recruitment Targets, Not Any ‘Woke’ Goals

For over a hundred years, Nov. 11 – Veterans Day – has been a day to celebrate and recognize the sacrifice and service of America’s military veterans.

This Veterans Day, as always, calls for celebration of the service and sacrifice of America’s troops. But it also provides an opportunity for the public to learn at a deeper level about America’s troops and who they are.

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Beyond the Protests: How To Support Immigrant Communities Amidst ICE Raids

A small flower wall, with information and signs, sits on the left side of the specified “free speech zone,” or the grassy area outside the Broadview ICE Detention Center, where law enforcement has allowed protestors to gather. The biggest sign, surrounded by flowers, says “THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED.”

Credit: Britton Struthers-Lugo, Oct. 30, 2025

Beyond the Protests: How To Support Immigrant Communities Amidst ICE Raids

The ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids have created widespread panic and confusion across Chicago. Many of the city’s immigrant communities are hurting, and if you’ve found yourself asking “how can I help?”, you’re far from the only one.

“Every single one [U.S. resident] has constitutional rights regardless of their immigration status. And the community needs to know that. And when we allow those rights to be taken away from some, we risk that they're going to take all those rights from everyone. So we all need to feel compelled and concerned when we see that these rights are being stripped away from, right now, a group of people, because it will be just a matter of time for one of us to be the next target,” said Enrique Espinoza, an immigrant attorney at Chicago Kent College of Law.

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Rick Bennett’s Independent Run for Maine Governor: A Legacy of Democracy Reform and Ranked-Choice Voting

Maine’s Rick Bennett has championed ranked-choice voting, open primaries, dark money reforms, and voter-first leadership for decades.

Getty Images, sakchai vongsasiripat

Rick Bennett’s Independent Run for Maine Governor: A Legacy of Democracy Reform and Ranked-Choice Voting

I’ve known Maine State Senator Rick Bennett — now an independent candidate for governor — since high school. His subsequent success has never surprised me. What has been gratifying is reconnecting decades later over a shared passion: strengthening American democracy.

Those of us in the democracy-reform community have long pointed to Maine as proof that structural change is possible when citizens take ownership of their government. From open primaries to campaign-finance reform to the nation’s first statewide adoption of ranked-choice voting (RCV), Maine has repeatedly led the way. And Rick Bennett has been a consistent, courageous advocate of that progress.

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