Tag: politics
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Democracy was on the Ballot (and Democracy won)
On Tuesday, the US held an historic mid-term election. In response to efforts by Republicans to limit voting rights and manipulate political power through gerrymandering of Congressional Districts, Americans turned out to vote and the overwhelming majority voted for Democrats. While turnout this year did not break records (preliminary analysis indicates it was almost as…
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Protest in Trump’s America
(and what’s missing from the pro-democracy movement) This week, Arman Azedi and I published a research brief about civic participation and protest in America. In the piece, we analyze data that were collected from over 23,000 Americans in spring 2026 as part of the Democracy for All project. The dataset is a treasure trove of…
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Learning from No Kings 4.
Source: https://www.nokings.org/ (accessed 10/15/2026 at 8am ET). On Saturday, October 17, No Kings Day #4 took place across the US. In contrast to the previous No Kings Days of Action, this one was designed to encourage early voting in the midterm elections. Here’s a map of early voting across the US (fun fact: early voting…
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Why the Permitting Reform Bill is Bad for our Democracy and for the Climate
(In other words, here we go again…) Image Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/climate/data-centers-pollution-trump-ai-energy.html On Wednesday, a group of Senators introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA). The bill aims to reform the federal environmental review and permitting process for energy projects in the US. The release was notable for including a diverse list of co-sponsors, including…
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Assessing Democracy in America before the Midterms
I had the opportunity to review the third report from the Democracy for All Project before it was released this week. The project is a collaboration between the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and Gallup and involves an annual survey of more than 23,000 American adults to understand civic life and Democracy in America. The results…
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Can the 2026 Election Save Our Democracy?
It is 80 days until the 2026 midterm elections take place across the US. There’s been a lot of discussion about what the progressive wins against moderates around the country mean for America and the Democratic Party. I expect even more speculation and coverage as the general election approaches and the Democratic Party decides whether…
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America at 250: This is NOT What Democracy Looks Like!
As our country celebrates its 250th anniversary, we are living through a particularly fraught period of US history with attacks on democratic participation and freedom of speech coming from inside the federal government. Across the country, the effects of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions, which weakened protections in the Voting Rights Act, gave the executive…
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Reclaiming Our Political Power
The Apocalyptic Optimist Podcast is BACK! Over the years, my research has explored many aspects of how we can build lasting and effective political power and civic capacity. In fact, I’ve written three books specifically about this subject: Activism, Inc – focused on youth political participation, why the Left keeps losing, and how to fix…
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Could Redistricting Efforts Energize the Pro-Democracy Movement?
Whenever I speak about civic and political engagement in America, I always start by discussing the most common way that Americans participate in our democracy: voting. Even though many people choose not to vote, it is still one of the most common forms of engagement and an act that most people do at least once…
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How to Expand Resistance and Build Solidarity?
As Trump’s second term continues (we are currently only 1 year and 4 months into his 4-year term), we are seeing continued resistance to the administration and its policies. There have been a series of days of action that have turned out millions of Americans to march and chant in peaceful protest (most recently in…
