• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Newsletter>
  3. newsletter>

Op-eds of the week: Young voters, Judge Cannon and ranked-choice voting

The Fulcrum
September 24, 2022



Don't take young people for granted in November

Young people have been voting in record numbers in recent elections, and recent polling indicates they may do so again during this year’s midterms. But at the same time, those same people do not believe their individual votes matter.

But given what’s at stake in state legislative and Senate races, it’s critical that we educate potential voters, not just get them to the polls, according to Dakota Hall of the Alliance for Youth Action and Tom Lopach of the Voter Participation Center.

We must also remember that voting does make a difference. Voting is one of the best opportunities we have to shape the future of our cities, states, and our entire country – and ensure our lawmakers have the best interests of our younger generations at heart.

Read more.

Additional reading: Wanted: A new generation of podcasters who care about democracy

A loose Cannon on the bench

Judge Aileen Cannon, despite her qualifications to serve on the bench, issued a “precedent-busting” ruling earlier this month in favor of Donald Trump in regards to the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago, writes author Lawrence Goldstone.

Cannon ignored both the facts and the law. Legal scholar Peter Shane noted that she “seems oblivious to the nature of executive privilege,” which allows members of the executive branch to protect internal communication from Congress, the courts and the public. No court had previously allowed a former president to shield official records from the executive branch itself.

Cannon’s rulings seem in line for a fellow member of the Federalist Society, which sometimes puts theology ahead of secular law, argues Goldstone.

Read more.

How a nuclear power plant helps explain the importance of ranked-choice voting

You’re forgiven if the parallels between nuclear power and ranked-choice voting are not readily apparent. But Henry Rowland, who runs the Connecticut Task Force of Veterans for Political Innovation, makes a compelling case.

The first step is to understand there are two forms of nuclear power: fission (which is what we use, and it produces harmful byproducts – just like our political system) and fusion (which occurs naturally on the sun, without producing toxins).

Now imagine if nuclear fusion was a commercially viable energy source and we wanted to repurpose Millstone to be a fusion reactor. We couldn’t just walk into Millstone and press different buttons and get a fusion reaction. We would need to fundamentally change the structure and the systems and processes that occur within that structure. Similarly, to change our political system from one that uses division to one that fosters unity, we would need to change the structure. Electoral reforms do just that, and ranked-choice voting is one of the most important.

Read more.

The United States can learn from Northern Ireland

Quixada Moore-Vissing, head of Public Engagement Partners, recently traveled to Northern Ireland to witness divisiveness in another country. The key difference? In Northern Ireland, and other countries, the people have accepted that they are politically divided, allowing them to work toward solutions.

But here’s the thing: America doesn’t have a premium on being divided. Lots of countries have grappled with divides, including Germany, North and South Korea, South Africa, and Northern Ireland. Despite our longing for American exceptionalism, we are not dissimilar from these other countries. We need to face the fact that the United States is a divided country. It’s painful and it’s difficult. And it’s not changing anytime soon.

Read more.

newsletter

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Political brain fog

Lawrence Goldstone
11h

Sounding the alarm over TDS

Lynn Schmidt
11h

Podcast: Redefining conservatism for millennials

Our Staff
11h

Taking flight into difficult but meaningful conversations

Debilyn Molineaux
22 March

The power of libraries to connect communities

Annie Caplan
Cristy Moran
22 March

Podcast: Break out of your bubble: Talk to a stranger

Our Staff
22 March
Videos

Video: The hidden stories in the U.S. Census

Our Staff

Video: We asked conservatives at CPAC what woke means

Our Staff

Video: DeSantis, 18 states to push back against Biden ESG agenda

Our Staff

Video: A conversation with Tiahna Pantovich

Our Staff

Video: What would happen if Trump was a third-party candidate in 2024?

Our Staff

Video: How the Federal Reserve is the shadow branch of the government

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Redefining conservatism for millennials

Our Staff
11h

Podcast: Break out of your bubble: Talk to a stranger

Our Staff
22 March

Podcast: Inequitable ability: Electoral and civic challenges faced by those with disabilities

Our Staff
21 March

Podcast: A tricky dance

Our Staff
14 March
Recommended
Political brain fog

Political brain fog

Big Picture
Sounding the alarm over TDS

Sounding the alarm over TDS

Threats to democracy
Podcast: Redefining conservatism for millennials

Podcast: Redefining conservatism for millennials

Podcasts
Taking flight into difficult but meaningful conversations

Taking flight into difficult but meaningful conversations

Big Picture
The power of libraries to connect communities

The power of libraries to connect communities

Big Picture
Podcast: Break out of your bubble: Talk to a stranger

Podcast: Break out of your bubble: Talk to a stranger

Podcasts