News. Debate. Community. Levers for a better democracy.
Directory

The People

The mission of The People is to bring Americans together to engage in civil discourse, establish and carry out nonpartisan governmental reforms. By doing so, we will live in a truly representative democracy. By activating all citizens and bringing our country together, one collective voice will be established and the average person can be heard. We will help individuals organize around common causes, rounding out strengths and weaknesses, and connecting them with others to accelerate their efforts. This will help us to facilitate productive dialogue between those with variation in beliefs and promote action to address needed governmental reforms.

https://twitter.com/ThePeopleOrg
https://www.linkedin.com/company/youthepeople
https://www.facebook.com/thepeopleorg

thepeople.org

News. Community. Debate. Levers for better democracy.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter.

Voting
True
Courtesy The People

"There are still barriers based on race and gender identity, and I believe RCV will help lower those," says Zoraya Hightower.

The Fahey Q&A with Zoraya Hightower, hoping to revive ranked elections in Vermont's main city

After organizing the Voters Not Politicians 2018 ballot initiative that put citizens in charge of drawing Michigan's legislative maps, Fahey became founding executive director of The People, which is forming statewide networks to promote government accountability. She regularly interviews colleagues in the world of democracy reform for our Opinion section.

Zoraya Hightower is co-chair of Better Ballot Burlington, which is pushing a referendum that would revive ranked-choice voting for local races in Vermont's biggest city. The vote is next week. By ousting the 33-year incumbent last year, Hightower became the first woman of color on the Burlington City Council.

Keep reading... Show less
Big Picture
Omar Marques/Getty Images

Google expands election security support to elected officials, political campaigns

Google announced Tuesday its plans to expand free election security services to elected officials and political campaigns across the country.

During the 2020 election cycle, the tech company, in collaboration with the nonprofit Defending Digital Campaigns, provided cybersecurity support to federal campaigns. Google's new 50-state venture builds on this by expanding services to eligible campaigns and political parties, committees and related organizations, as well as elected officials and their staff.

While election security concerns took a backseat in last year's election to the more pressing problems presented by the coronavirus pandemic, cybersecurity will remain a critical issue for campaigns in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms and beyond.

Keep reading... Show less
Voting
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

North Carolina is estimated to have the biggest increase in independent voters by 2035, with a bump of 14 percentage points.

Share of independent voters is forecast to increase steadily

While American politics comes off like a death match between Democrats and Republicans, off camera more and more voters are choosing not to affiliate with either party — and those numbers look destined to grow.

The share of independent voters has trended upward in the past two decades, and this fall accounted for 36 percent of the electorate, according to Gallup. A report released Monday projects this unaffiliated population will continue growing over the next 15 years.

With the electorate continuing to move away from past loyalties to the red and blue teams, many democracy reform groups see the time as ripe to make the political system adapt to better represent and accommodate independents. The report was prepared by the Open Primaries Education Fund, which is aligned with one such group that advocates for policies weakening the red and blue duopoly.

Keep reading... Show less

Winning Reforms: Wrap Up & Gear Up

Organizer: National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers

The virtual conference, NANR's final virtual event of of 2020, will share successes and missed opportunities from the 2020 election cycle, provide skills training for organizations and leaders, as well as opportunities to network and collaborate with attendees.

Friday, December 11 will feature important talks from Citizen Data's Mindy Finn, National Vote at Home Institute's Amber McReynolds, IVC Media's Chad Peace, and more. Saturday, December 12 will include workshops, briefings, and discussion groups on 2020 campaign lessons, common challenges campaigns face, the next steps for beyond 2021.

Location: Virtual

© Issue One. All rights reserved.