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Grants in the offing to strengthen faith-and-democracy bond
Have an idea to promote public engagement at the intersection of faith and democracy?
If so, a Washington-based funding consortium called Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) is soliciting proposals and plans to distribute about $300,000 to support five to seven projects.
"This exploration is a natural extension of PACE's mission to deepen and enrich philanthropy's support of democracy and civic life," Kristen Cambell, executive director of PACE said in a statement announcing the funding.
A great deal of attention has been paid in recent years to seeking ways to bridge the social and political divides in the country. But, PACE says in its funding announcement, the potential of faith as a catalyst for these sorts of efforts has been largely unexplored. "While many institutions seek to engage people of faith in bridge-building and pluralism efforts, few organizations are funding specific interventions to engage people of faith in using their faith to support the well-being of democracy," the group says.
More information about the initiative and a link to the RFP to apply for funding is here.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a trio of democracy reform bills this week.
California governor signs three political reform bills
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Tuesday three democracy reform bills focused on local redistricting, voting access and campaign contributions.
The first piece of legislation prohibits partisan gerrymandering at the local level by establishing criteria for cities and counties to use when adjusting district boundaries. While California is the largest state to use an independent redistricting commission to draw its congressional and state district maps, local districts did not have the same regulations.
Gov. Ralph Northam used his executive authority to restore voting rights for felons, noting that Virginia is among the states that permanently strips such rights after a felony conviction.
Virginia governor restores voting rights to over 22,000 felons
More than 22,000 Virginians with felony convictions have regained the right to vote thanks to executive actions taken by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam since he took office in January 2018, his office announced this week.
In a statement, Northam's office said he has so far restored the civil rights of 22,205 people who had been convicted of felonies and have since completed their sentences. Those civil rights include the right to vote as well as the right to serve on juries, run for public office and become a notary public.
Northam previously announced in February that nearly 11,000 convicted felons had their voting rights restored under his watch.