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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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Arguments or debates, disputes or conflicts, verbal clashes. Angry men and women roar at each other

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What If Polarization Is the Wrong Diagnosis?

I just listened to political scientist Lilliana Mason challenge one of the most familiar explanations of what is wrong with American politics.

We are constantly told that America suffers from polarization. Republicans and Democrats have moved too far apart. They distrust each other, increasingly regard one another as enemies, and have lost the ability to compromise. The prescribed remedies are familiar: more civility, more dialogue, less hostility, and a return to the political center.

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HHS and the American Heart Association gave opposite dietary advice. Here’s a three-step test to separate real skepticism from cynicism.

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Skepticism Isn't Cynicism. The Diet Wars Show the Difference.

This year, Americans got two opposite sets of instructions for the same dinner plate. Many of us responded the way we now respond to almost everything: we picked a team.

In January, the Department of Health and Human Services released new federal dietary guidelines built around red meat and full-fat dairy. Less than three months later, the American Heart Association issued guidance pointing close to the opposite way: build meals around plants and plant protein, choose unsaturated fats over saturated ones, and cut back on red meat and full-fat dairy.

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Investigations, indictments, dismissals, convictions: what each means and the questions to ask before judging claims of political weaponization of the law.

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Just the Facts: Trump, DOJ and the Legal Process

The Fulcrum approaches news stories with an open mind and skepticism, presenting our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.


The legal battles involving the Trump administration have become a constant feature of American politics and governance. Supporters often argue that many lawsuits and investigations are politically motivated attempts to block the administration's agenda. Critics contend that certain actions by the administration and the Department of Justice are themselves politically motivated or represent an improper use of government power.

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I Believe in Immigration Enforcement. But, What Happened to TK Should Concern Us All.

TK was born in Guatemala in 1962. He arrived in the United States in 1965, at the age of three, as a lawful permanent resident with his immigrant mother and American stepfather. For the next 61 years, he lived what most people would recognize as an American life.

TK grew up in American schools, graduated from a Texas high school and attended college. As a child, his classmates struggled to pronounce his given name, Enrique. They began calling him “Keke,” a nickname that eventually became “TK”—the name he has been known by ever since. He married, raised three daughters, divorced, and eventually remarried, all in the US. Today, he is a grandfather and a successful businessman whose life has been rooted in this country since the age of three.

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