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Laleh Ispahani

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    Local

    We took big steps toward a multiracial democracy on Election Day

    Laleh Ispahani
    November 23, 2021
    Michelle Wu being sworn in as mayor of Boston

    Michelle Wu was sworn in as mayor of Boston on Nov. 16. She is the first Asian American to lead the city.

    Scott Eisen/Getty Images

    Ispahani is co-director of Open Society-U.S., overseeing grant making, advocacy, and administrative work in U.S. offices of the Open Society Foundations.

    Off-yearelections typically produce rough nights for the party in power andthis month's vote was no exception. Democrats lost every statewide race in Virginia and narrowly held the governorship in New Jersey — both blue states. Pundits are parsing familiar themes of Democrats in disarray and the GOP's ability to once again inflame the culture wars to their political advantage.

    This negative narrative, though, obscures some landmark victories worthy of their own headlines, as they suggest milestones on the longer march toward a truly multiracial democracy.

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    Voting

    What's needed nationally, and fast, to prevent Wisconsin from replicating

    Tom Perriello
    Laleh Ispahani
    April 09, 2020
    Wisconsin primary voters

    The chaos and confusion in Wisconsin this week is a cautionary tale for the rest of the country in the age of Covid-19, according to Perriello and Ispahani.

    Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Perriello, a former Democratic congressman from Virginia, and Ispahani are executive director and managing director of the U.S. operation for the Open Society Foundations, created by billionaire George Soros to promote democracy and combat intolerance around the world.

    It's been an astonishing few days for Wisconsin.

    First, Gov. Tony Evers, acting on growing concerns about the safety of voters heading to the polls amid the coronavirus crisis, issued an executive order abruptly calling a halt to in-person voting on the eve of the Tuesday election. The GOP-led Legislature filed suit and the state Supreme Court blocked Evers' order, allowing voting to proceed despite the difficulties of adhering to social distancing guidance inherent in crowds gathering at polling places. The U.S. Supreme Court then weighed in, striking down efforts to extend the window for absentee voting.

    The result: a confused electorate left to decide whether to risk their health by heading to the ballot box or silence their voices and forfeit their franchise by sitting out the state's presidential primary and elections for a number of local offices as well.

    The chaos is a cautionary tale for the rest of the country in the age of Covid-19. We must begin now to plan for safe voting as this presidential election year rolls on. Keeping elections — our sacred democratic rite — safe and secure will require urgent action at every level: members of Congress appropriating funds, governors and state election officials answering the patriotic call to put safeguards in place, and civic groups educating voters about options for safely casting ballots.

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