The drive to mandate paper ballots in every election has won the final "regional" bracket in our Democracy Madness tournament — which asks you, the reader, to select your favorite democracy reform idea from among an original list of 64 concepts.
Paper ballots, the top seat in our "Best of the Rest" division, topped second-seeded federal funding for elections in the championship game for this quadrant of the bracket.
When the Final Four kicks off Monday, paper ballots will challenge the winners of the previous regions: ranked-choice voting (Voting region), repealing the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case (Money in Politics) and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compac t (Elections).
Tune in on Monday to vote in the Final Four.













Samantha Shepherd, a child care director in Savannah, Georgia, and a single mom of two girls, said rising gas prices are affecting families at her center, including one mother who may not be able to take her children to school. (Courtesy of Samantha Shepherd)







