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Interactivity Foundation

The Interactivity Foundation works to enhance the process and expand the scope and health of our democracy by bringing people together in small group discussions of broad topics of societal concern. Our goal is to engage more people in the exploration and development of more possibilities for public policy. We use a facilitated discussion process that is oriented around the notion of collaboration by difference, engaging a group to work together to uncover divergent perspectives on the discussion topic and to develop divergent approaches to that topic.

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Michigan ballot box
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Register for Election Overtime Project briefing for Michigan media

Becvar is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and executive director of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund. Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

The Election Overtime Project, an effort to prepare journalists to cover the outcome of the 2024 election, is hosting its third swing-state briefing on Oct. 25, this time focused on Michigan.

The series is a part of an effort to help reporters, TV anchors and others prepare America to understand and not fear close elections. Election Overtime is an initiative of the Election Reformers Network and developed in partnership with the Bridge Alliance, which publishes The Fulcrum.

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vote pin and Holy Bible on American flag
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Faith leaders unite to mobilize and protect voters

Becvar is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and executive director of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

Many people are feeling the weight of the presidential election, often carrying concerns about violence at their polling place. This election will be a test of our democracy and our faith, which is why early planning and even more robust strategic engagement by the faith community has been critical.

One organization that has been working to address this concern since 2020 is Faiths United to Save Democracy. The coalition kicked off its work in 2020 amid the big push of the racial reckoning movement. At first, FUSD focused primarily on anti-Black vote suppression, and the lawyers committee for civil rights (dubbed “Lawyers and Collars”) started following 400 voting rights suppression initiatives aimed at suppressing a wider swath of voters.

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Taylor Swift and Elon Musk
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Musk vs. Swift: Will Elon’s payments to voters shift the balance?

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

In September, The Fulcrum shared a new study that offers insights into voter perceptions of political candidates and similar evaluations of celebrities — a study that takes a different approach than the usual favorable/unfavorable polling questions.

This unique study applies insights from the subconscious, human social perception process known as the Stereotype Content Model, or more commonly, the Warmth & Competence model. This widely published and validated framework was developed by social psychologists explains how our perceptions of others trigger predictable emotions and behaviors toward individuals and social groups.

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Person holding a "Stop the steal" sign

Saying an election is stolen or rigged, without good reason, hurts America.

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Why we must avoid temptations to call lost elections ‘rigged’

Elwood works with Builders, a nonpartisan organization aimed at overcoming toxic polarization, and is the author of “Defusing American Anger.”

Shortly before the 2020 election, a survey found that many Americans — including many Republicans and Democrats — were prepared to view the election as “rigged” if their candidate lost. One of the survey creators said the results were, “in a word, extreme.”

The stability of a democratic republic like ours depends on widespread trust in and acceptance of election results. Without this, things start to fall apart. Political dysfunction can give way to chaos, constitutional crises and even significant political violence.

We must see that when we call elections “illegitimate” without very good reasons, we hurt America.

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