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There’s a bipartisan chorus in the House for more election security money. But how much?

The bipartisan leadership of the House panel that oversees elections is unified about the need to do more to help states and localities secure voting systems against cyberattacks.

"Action is needed now to grasp the scope of the problem and to innovate concrete solutions" in time for November 2020, Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, said at Wednesday's hearing of the House Administration Committee. "This goal will be a primary focus of this committee moving forward. No matter your side of the aisle, the oath of upholding democracy as citizens and elected leaders is fundamental."


Rodney Davis of Illinois, the committee's top Republican, said he takes "the responsibility of ensuring fair and secure elections extremely seriously" and that Russian interference in the 2016 election was "troubling," The Hill reported.

How much Congress allocates to the problem in the coming months is very much up in the air, however. The $380 million appropriated last fall and since distributed across the country has not come close to fulfilling all the states' needs for enhanced technology. Replacing the election systems in Pennsylvania alone would cost $100 million.

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Justice is blind statue symbolizing law with scales and sword in hands and a US flag in the background
SimpleImages/Getty Images

When lawyers attack the rule of law

Lawyers Defending American Democracy invites you to attend a free webinar, “When Lawyers Attack the Rule of Law,” on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. Pacific (5 p.m. Eastern).

Please register for this important webinar.

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Latino man standing at the counter in a bakery

"Trump wants to bring jobs back to America. For us, this means more work here and for our community,” says Joge Sactic, who owns a bakery just outside Washington, D.C.

Beatrice M. Spadacini

Small-business owner prioritizes immigration in this year’s election

Spadacini is an Italian American freelance journalist who writes about social justice and public health.

The Fulcrum presents We the People, a series elevating the voices and visibility of the persons most affected by the decisions of elected officials. In this installment, we explore the motivations of over 36 million eligible Latino voters as they prepare to make their voices heard in November.

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"Vote Here" sign
Grace Cary

Bill would require ranked-choice voting for congressional elections

Meyers is executive editor of The Fulcrum.

Three members of Congress are hoping to bring ranked-choice voting, which has been growing at the state and municipal levels, to congressional elections.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Thursday introduced the Ranked Choice Voting Act, which would change how all members of Congress are elected. In addition, the bill would authorize funding to assist states to help them educate voters and implement RCV-compliant systems for primary and general elections by 2028.

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Red elephants and blue donkeys
Carol Yepes

America's two-party system is failing us

Cooper is the author of “How America Works … and Why it Doesn’t.

Are Kamala Harris and Donald Trump really the two best candidates for America's most demanding and important job? Hardly. Trump tried to reverse the last election. And while Harris would be a reversion toward the mean — after an unfit Trump and an aging Joe Biden — she's far from the most talented executive in the country.

So why, then, are they the two candidates to be president?

The answer is America's two-party political system. While third parties occasionally make some noise, they never threaten the Democratic-Republican duopoly.

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