Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Rhode Island Democrats seek to remove details about voters’ birthdays

Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea wants to protect voters' identities by removing birthdays from the state's voter rolls. But critics say this could lead to a pileup of redundant registrations.

This week, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would codify a decision Gorbea, a Democrat, made a few years ago. In summer 2016, she quietly changed what information is publicly available in the state's Central Voter Registration System by removing the day and month from the list of voter birth dates, The Providence Journal reported.


The bill, which so far is only supported by Democrats, would put that change into writing. While Gorbea says this will help prevent voter identity theft, the Journal reports that no such incidences of theft have been cited.

Opponents argue that keeping full birth dates on voter rolls helps parse out any repeat registrations or enrollments from people who are deceased. Rhode Island has roughly 790,000 registered voters, but past investigations by the Journal revealed there could be thousands of duplicates.

Read More

The African American Mayors Association holds its 11th annual conference, this year in Washington, D.C.

The African American Mayors Association holds its 11th annual conference, this year in Washington, D.C.

Imagine Photography, Heaven Brown

Job Cuts, Climate Threats, and the Power of Now: Black Mayors Seek Strength in Solidarity

WASHINGTON – Black mayors from across the country gathered in the nation’s capital for the annual African American Mayors Association Conference last week and strategized ways to govern their cities despite ongoing federal job cuts and recent actions coming from the Trump administration.

At the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, President Donald Trump conducted his second round of mass firings. Those who were not fired were told to go back to in-person work the same week in late March.

Keep ReadingShow less
Innovative Local Solutions Can Ease America’s Housing Crisis
aerial photography of rural
Photo by Breno Assis on Unsplash

Innovative Local Solutions Can Ease America’s Housing Crisis

Across the country, families are prevented from accessing safe, stable, affordable housing—not by accident, but by design. Decades of exclusionary zoning, racial discrimination, and disinvestment have created a housing system that works well for the wealthy but leaves others behind. Even as federal cuts to public housing programs continue nationwide, powerful, community-rooted efforts are pushing back and offering real, equity-driven solutions led by local voices.

Historically, states like New Jersey show what’s possible when legal advocacy and grassroots organizing come together. In 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel ruling established that every municipality in the state has a constitutional obligation to provide its fair share of affordable housing. This landmark legal ruling reshaped housing policy and set a national precedent. Today, organizations like Fair Share Housing Center continue to defend and expand this right, ensuring that local governments are prohibited from using zoning laws to exclude working-class families or people of color.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pope Francis and Democracy: Navigating Beliefs and Political Systems
person wearing white cap looking down under cloudy sky during daytime

Pope Francis and Democracy: Navigating Beliefs and Political Systems

Pope Francis is being remembered for his reformist stance that both challenged conservative elements within the Catholic Church and resonated with progressive movements. The 88-year-old Argentina-born pontiff passed away on Monday following a series of health complications.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church often shared his perspectives on various societal issues, including the relationship between faith and democracy. His tenure as pope was marked by a commitment to social justice, human rights, and the dignity of all individuals, which naturally intersects with democratic ideals.

Keep ReadingShow less