Democracy Wire

We have redistricting litigation developments in North Carolina, Virginia, and Illinois in addition to a big prison gerrymandering decision out of Rhode Island. A significant win in California could bring reform to counties and cities across the state and a new campaign in Pennsylvania seeks to get candidates’ views about gerrymandering on the record. Here’s what’s happening around the country.

The November election will be the first in 50 years conducted without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act, a development that heightens the importance of volunteer efforts to see that every voter has convenient, unobstructed access to the ballot. But with Election Day just five weeks away, some political leaders are stoking unfounded fears about voter fraud and recruiting volunteers bent on suppressing rather than boosting turnout.

Americans are coming together and seeking solutions to some of the most intractable problems facing our democracy. A growing number of women have taken the lead at democracy reform organizations that are setting the tone for the next major wave of reforms. Their efforts are modernizing our political system and creating a 21st century democracy that works for us all. Common Cause and allies held a discussion featuring several of the democracy movement's leading women, including Common Cause's recently-named President, Karen Hobert Flynn, to examine the state of the national debate on democracy.

A federal appeals court has cleared New Hampshire voters to take selfies with their completed ballots on Election Day. The three-judge panel in Boston upheld a lower court ruling that found the 2014 state law banning the practice unconstitutional.

Americans like to think our government represents all of us, but sometimes in American politics, you get what you pay for.

With only 41 days left until Nov. 8, Election Day, it is essential to act quickly to include all eligible voters in the political process