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You've winnowed the field: Democracy Madness reaches the Final Four
Jun 01 2020
The democracy reform movement is full of scores of ideas for improving the American political system, many of them compatible with one another. But we have challenged readers of The Fulcrum to pick their favorites from among a field of 64, narrowing the options as we go. And now we're down to the Final Four.
It's time now to vote in the two semi-final matchups of the Democracy Madness tournament, which features the winners of our "regional" brackets: Voting, Money in Politics, Elections and the Best of the Rest.
<p>On one side of the brackets, we have a matchup between the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (which won upset after upset to rise from the 11th seed in the Elections region to Final Four participant) versus always using paper ballots, which was seeded No. 1 in Best of the Rest. The compact is an agreement among states to cast their electoral votes for the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of each in-state winner. Paper ballots are widely seen as the premier method of guarding against election hacking.</p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><script src="https://app.credspark.com/assessments/democracy-madness-final-four/embed_script.js" type="text/javascript"></script><div class="credsparkQuiz" data-quiz-id="democracy-madness-final-four"></div></div><p>The other half of the bracket features another top seed, undoing Citizens United as the best way to fix Money in Politics, facing off against ranked-choice elections (No. 2 seed), which made a dominating run through the Voting region. The Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in <a href="http://thefulcrum.us/citizens-united" target="_self">Citizens United vs. FEC</a> opened the door to unlimited campaign spending by corporations, unions and wealthy individuals and has since become a premier cause among campaign finance reformers. <a href="http://thefulcrum.us/ranked-choice-voting" target="_self">Ranked-choice voting</a> is the most popular form of alternative voting among change advocates. It uses an instant runoff system to guarantee majority support for the winner of an election.<br></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><script src="https://app.credspark.com/assessments/democracy-madness-final-four-copy/embed_script.js" type="text/javascript"></script><div class="credsparkQuiz" data-quiz-id="democracy-madness-final-four-copy"></div></div><div><p>The final round begins Wednesday.<br></p></div>
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Paper ballots win last spot in Democracy Madness Final Four
May 29 2020
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 Compact (Elections).
Tune in on Monday to vote in the Final Four.
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- The 13 states where election security matters most - The Fulcrum ›
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- Democracy Madness reaches the Final Four - The Fulcrum ›
- Democracy Madness reaches the Final Four - The Fulcrum ›
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Top seeds squaring off for the 'best of the rest' in Democracy Madness
May 27 2020
Three of the four quarters of Democracy Madness have wrapped up. Now, it's time to crown the champion of the "Best of the Rest" division and move into the Final Four of our reader-driven tournament to come up with the fan favorite proposal for fixing the broken democracy.
The top seeds in this part of the bracket — always using paper ballots in elections (No. 1) and using federal funding to power elections (No. 2) — will square off today and Thursday in the final round of this "regional" competition. Both proposals have breezed past their opponents thus far, though the second seed has had higher win margins during its run.
Can federal election funding upset paper ballots? Or will the lead seed bring home the victory? You decide by clicking "Vote Now" and tracking your pick.
Starting Monday, the champions of each divisional bracket will go head-to-head to decide which reform you think is the top choice.
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Final regional bracket reaches the Final Four
May 25 2020
Two mini upsets in the Elite Eight created a couple of mismatched pairings in the Final Four of the Democracy Madness "Best of the Rest" division.
Always using paper ballots (No. 1), the top priority of election security experts, is taking on the concept of creating an ethics code for the Supreme Court (No. 5). The fifth seed destroyed the idea of statehood for Washington (No. 4) in the last round.
Could Congress' constant dysfunction have voters thinking it's a lost cause? The legislative branch had two chances to make it to the semifinals of this bracket, but both increasing Congress' capacity (No. 3) and having members spend more time on Capitol Hill (No. 7) got knocked out.
Instead the second seed, using federal funds for elections, will take on the sixth seed, increasing civics education.
Voting closes Tuesday evening, so make your choices now.
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- Myth-busting the top 10 objections to 'vote at home' systems - The ... ›
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