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Finding an Off-Ramp for Republicans on Presidential Claims of Massive Voter Fraud

02.2.17

BY JAMES PAGANO President Trump continues to struggle to accept his popular vote loss. He again made headlines last week, repeating unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud. Although absolutely no evidence supporting his claim exists, President Trump has vowed to open an investigation into the matter. His claims distract from the real election issues facing […]

Sic Semper Tyrannis

01.25.17

This article is being published in collaboration with Pangyrus. BY SEBASTIAN JOHNSON “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” — Milan Kundera I. Invention One of the first documentations of African people in British North America dates to 1619, when approximately 20 captives from present-day Angola disembarked at Jamestown. Slavery […]

Human Rights

Countering Nativism with Active Citizenry: Protecting the Vote While Arab, Muslim and American

11.29.16

BY HAMADA ZAHAWI It was 9:45pm on election night. Still avoiding the news, I boarded my flight back to Boston, after several days of canvassing and protecting the vote with a team of lawyers in a coveted area of a key battleground state – Broward County, Florida. By the time I landed in Boston, Donald […]

Democracy and Governance

How Changes to the Primary Process Can Improve Democratic Electoral Outcomes

11.16.16

BY JAMES PAGANO As the dust settles on the 2016 Presidential Election, the Democratic Party will begin a process of deep self-reflection. If the past week is any indication, the party will analyze what happened in 2016 with a specific focus on improving its future electoral prospects among rural white working-class voters. The shocking upset […]

Democracy and Governance

A Brief Reaction to Donald Trump’s Victory

11.9.16

BY ALI WYNE There are two ways for those of us who supported Hillary Clinton’s campaign to react to Donald Trump’s victory: we can scream to high heaven, steeping ourselves in a toxic brew of anger and despair; or we can attempt to understand why he won and consider what we might have done differently. […]

Why I Flew Across the Country to Cast My Vote for Hillary Clinton

11.7.16

BY AROHI SHARMA At 5:52 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, November 3, I put down the phone with the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office, devastated. After spending more than forty minutes waiting for someone to answer my call, I was told that the registrar’s office had not received my vote-by-mail application. I mailed my application […]

If She Votes, So Should You

11.4.16

BY JILLIAN RAFFERTY Since August, I’ve travelled to New Hampshire to canvass for the Democratic Party half a dozen times. I’ve knocked on doors in Rye, in Nashua, and in Londonderry. I’ve spoken to folks from across the political spectrum, from age 19 to 86. From all those conversations, no voter left a deeper impression […]

Democracy and Governance

Money, Polarization, and Obstacles to Voting: A German Perspective on the American Presidential Election

11.2.16

BY SEBASTIAN LANGER Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) announced it’s 2017 election budget: 20 million Euro (around $22.1 million) on October 21. This is not the full sum needed for the campaign—every district’s candidate has to raise another 6,000 to 10,000 Euro for his or her personal campaigning. But that’s all. […]

Democracy and Governance

Fear and Loathing on the Brexit Campaign Trail

06.23.16

BY CHARLIE SAMUDA Back in 2013, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, bowing to pressure from within his own party, announced plans to hold a vote on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU). The short-term consequence has been an emotional and often ugly campaign, which comes to an end today—voting closes in just a few […]

Democracy and Governance

What will it take to awaken the sleeping giant? Latino Issues in the 2016 Presidential Election

06.9.16

In 2012, a record 11.2 million Latinos voted in the presidential election. Despite the record turnout, another 12.1 million eligible Latinos still chose not to vote. The 48% voter turnout rate amongst Latinos is no small feat, but it paled in comparison to the 66.6% voter turnout rate of Blacks and the 64.1% of Whites.[i] […]

Politics

Latinas Courted As Voters But Overlooked As Candidates

10.15.15

Across the country, we all hear the trumpeting of Hispanic Heritage Month. Elected officials, from local leaders to the highest office in the land, have released messages of inspiration, praising the contributions of our Latina/o community. Unfortunately, the media pays less attention to one group of voices, because it is a small group when compared […]

Politics

Rwanda Strides Towards Gender Equality in Government

08.15.14

BY ELIZABETH BENNETT Rwanda is the only country in the world where more women than men serve as elected officials. For a small, land-locked nation in the middle of sub-Saharan Africa, that’s an impressive distinction. But when you consider how far the country has come over two decades, it becomes downright astonishing. For Rwandans, the […]

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