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The Fulcrum Digest: Voting Access Proposals Are Sweeping the Nation


There has been a surge in legislation to ease access to the polls during the early days of state legislative sessions across the country.

The New York University School of Law's Brennan Center counts at least 230 bills that have been filed or pre-filed at state capitals since the midterm election – with bipartisan efforts to place automatic voter registration, vote-by-mail, same-day registration or the restoration of voting rights for convicted felons on the legislative agendas in 31 states.

Hawaii Moves Toward Always Voting by Mail

Legislators in Hawaii this week began debating a range of election measures including a proposal to make the archipelago the fourth state in the nation that conducts all voting by mail.

Mail ballots are now an option and have outnumbered those cast at traditional polling places since 2014. A bill starting to move in the legislature would shift Hawaii to an exclusively mail-in system in 2022. Previous have been passed by the state Senate but ignored in the state House. However, Democratic majority leaders in both chambers say they are supportive of the reform this session, Honolulu Civic Beat reports.

Ranked-Choice Voting Gets Next Test in D.C. Suburbs

One of the hottest concepts in the world of election modernization is "ranked-choice voting" – where rather than selecting one candidate per contest, voters list candidates for each office in order of preference. Whenever no one secures majority support in the first round, an automated runoff among top finishers kicks in.

It's hailed by supporters as a means of giving more power to voters, enhancing the prospects of outsider candidates, boosting civility in campaigns and producing more consensus-minded lawmakers. Detractors see the system as confusing and in someway disenfranchising.


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This Sheriff’s Office Says Racial Profiling Reforms Are Too Costly. Auditors Found It Misused $163 Million.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office misused $163 million intended to address racial profiling reforms, according to a court-mandated audit.

Illustrations by Shoshana Gordon, ProPublica.
When the Connection Frays: Systems, Stroke, and Institutional Fragility
a stethoscope and a heart on a table

When the Connection Frays: Systems, Stroke, and Institutional Fragility

Three months ago, I had a stroke. Minor, as strokes go—my cognition is intact, my body largely functional. But something has changed in the wiring, and what I am observing in my own recovery has reframed how I think about institutional fragility and why complex systems fail where we least expect them to.

The Word I Cannot Find

Here is what a minor stroke actually feels like from the inside.

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High-Deductible Health Plans Are Being Sold as a Cure. They Aren’t.
a pile of pills and money sitting on top of a table

High-Deductible Health Plans Are Being Sold as a Cure. They Aren’t.

Recently, during rounds, I met a patient who almost missed her own heart attack. She'd had chest pain for hours before she finally came in. Clinicians know what those hours cost. When asked why she had waited, her answer made my own heart sink. She had a high-deductible health plan — an HDHP — which meant she would owe thousands of dollars before her insurance paid a single cent.

"It's like I don't even have insurance," she told me from her hospital bed, asking when someone from financial assistance would be able to speak to her.

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Democracy Awards Honor Bipartisan Excellence in Congressional Service
white concrete building under cloudy sky during daytime

Democracy Awards Honor Bipartisan Excellence in Congressional Service

Now in their ninth year, the Democracy Awards are the Congressional Management Foundation’s (CMF) flagship program recognizing excellence in non-legislative achievement on Capitol Hill. Founded in 1977, CMF is the premier bipartisan 501(c)(3) foundation dedicated to strengthening the First Branch by providing Members of Congress and their staff with hands-on, actionable support and essential resources that help them govern effectively, better serve constituents, and strengthen the institution. Across seven categories, these bipartisan awards honor Members of Congress and their staff for outstanding public service and contributions to strengthening the First Branch.

Each year, following an open self-nomination season, one Democratic office and one Republican office are recognized in each award category, along with four recipients of the Chief of Staff of the Year award. Applications for the 2026 season opened in late January, and throughout the spring, CMF conducted 47 interviews across 45 congressional offices from a pool of 154 applications. Winners were selected by an independent panel in May and will be honored at both a Winner’s luncheon in June and a formal ceremony in Washington, D.C. in July. Through this process, the Democracy Awards shine a light on the exceptional work taking place on Capitol Hill that too often goes unnoticed.

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