News
Report: How gerrymandering has limited Medicaid coverage
The debate over gerrymandering often focuses on what partisan mapmaking means for election outcomes. But that's just the means to a policy-making end. A liberal think tank has just released its second report demonstrating how gerrymandering impacts legislative decisions, this time focusing on Medicaid.
A study released Monday by the Center for American Progress details the impacts gerrymandering has had on how states determine Medicaid eligibility. CAP found that despite significant bipartisan support for Medicaid nationwide, states with Republican-controlled legislatures were more likely to limit access to the government-subsidized health insurance.
CAP is part of a growing movement advocating for a change in the way congressional and state legislative district maps have traditionally been drawn. Rather than have state lawmakers decide, redistricting reform groups say, independent commissions should have the mapmaking authority.
"A fair process for drawing districts is fundamental to democracy, helping to ensure that voters' voices are heard on critical issues such as access to health care," the report states.
Confidence in the honesty of U.S. elections lags behind other countries
The Russians may not have had much real success hacking our elections. But their efforts, combined with other fears brought on extreme partisanship, a proliferation of conspiracy theories and a feeling of helplessness, have made a real impact on Americans' confidence in our elections.
A new report published by Gallup finds that only 40 percent of the country has confidence in the honesty of our elections — ranking the United States a distant 27th in the world.
Educators push for more diverse voices in the young and energized electorate
Student activism is on the rise, and young voters are both expanding as a bloc and mobilizing to demand action from the politicians of 2020.
But will all voices be heard, including those of marginalized and lower-income students? And will all the buzz translate into any lasting policy or political outcomes?
Such questions preoccupy not just political organizers but civic educators, who are increasingly looking for ways to make civic learning relevant to this diverse and fired-up younger generation. Research shows gaps in both civic knowledge and civic engagement between black and Hispanic students and their white peers, as well as between students from lower- and higher-income families. And as a whole, civic learning is often perceived as dominated by white perspectives and educators.
Debate
Don't be fooled: Most independents are partisans too
"What really matters is what political scientists like myself call your 'political identity' – your psychological attachment to a political group, such as a party or an ideological movement," argues University of Dayton professor Christopher Devine.
Community
Democracy in Chains With Nancy MacLean
Join Reclaim Our Democracy on March 6 in Concord, Mass., to talk about how capitalism intersects with democracy and what that means for voters.