The Fulcrum is a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization focused exclusively on efforts to reverse the dysfunctions plaguing American democracy.
Originally published on The Fulcrum.
The relatively new National Task Force on Election Crises has issued its concise but thorough guidance to states on how to plan for elections during the coronavirus outbreak.
Originally published on The Fulcrum.
Advocates of open government are sounding the alarm that local, state and federal officials are too quickly sacrificing public access to the cause of public health during the coronavirus pandemic.
"This is the worst time to be putting up obstacles to access," said Daniel Bevarly, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, a group of state and national organizations promoting access to the meetings and records of government.
As social distancing forces more isolation on an already fractured nation, one of the leading organizations behind civil dialogue is developing programming to keep people connected.
The National Conversation Project, a coalition of more than 300 organizations that develops virtual and in-person programming to help bridge divides through listening and sharing, launched the #WeavingCommunities effort this week to help people keep communicating during the coronavirus shutdown.
Originally published on The Fulcrum.
While the Democratic contest was quickly condensing into a two-man race, 18 minimally known presidential aspirants were convening for a sprawling discussion on Wednesday.
Illinois should host the first presidential primaries if the goal is to pick a state that most closely matches the demographics of the country.
And Vermont, the home state of Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders, should have minimal influence over the process because its makeup is least similar to the entire United States — meaning the results from that state would be hardly at all predictive of the nation's views.
Republicans in charge of the Arizona Legislature are hoping to restrict the powers of the state's independent redistricting commission before the new maps are drawn next year.
By: Mark Schmitt (The Fulcrum Op-Ed)
A presidential campaign is a contest of ideas, not just personalities. As candidates set out policy priorities and develop proposals, we learn more about what they care about, but we also see in their reflection what voters and party activists want to hear. The proposals that even the failed candidates embrace, and the priority they give them, can foreshadow ideas that will take hold in the future.
Cities and counties in Florida that want to limit dark money or foreign donors in their own elections would be stopped under a surprise proposal now moving through the Legislature.
The effort launched this week by Republicans in charge in Tallahassee looks to be the most prominent move yet by a state to preempt such local statutes.