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A national political organization recognized members of the student voter advocacy organization TX Votes for helping increase student voter turnout in the 2018 midterm elections.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is a nonpartisan organization that supports and recognizes colleges, students and faculty for promoting political engagement, said Catherine Fish, associate director for the challenge. The Universitys voting turnout for eligible student voters improved to 65.6% in 2018 from 23.5% in 2014, according to a University press release.

The University earned the award for most improved voter rate among large public universities, according to ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenges website.

Kassie Phebillo, fifth year doctoral student in the Universitys communication studies program, said TX Votes implemented a classroom voter registration program in 2018 which saw over 250 classrooms, from small classes to lecture halls, register to vote.

Phebillo said the organization also hosted voter registration events to increase voter turnout, such as Vote Fest, which involved organizations in the Civic Engagement Alliance. The alliance, which is managed by TX Votes, contains over 110 UT student organizations that are committed to engaging their members in the voting process, she said.

Phebillo won the outstanding graduate student award for helping increase voter turnout. She said TX Votes hopes to get involved with more University events.

A lot of the ways where we would like to improve, we would need a lot of support from the University, Phebillo said. For the first time this fall, we were invited to Mooov-In, and we registered close to a thousand people we are hoping to get included into more of those processes.

Maya Patel, former TX Votes president, was awarded the Student Honor Roll award for helping increase voter turnout. Patel, a chemistry senior pursuing a certificate in public policy, said seeing how many students voted as a result of their efforts is a testament to the difference students can make.

Its incredible that we were able to turn out students in a midterm election at rates that are seen in presidential elections, Patel said. This proves that young people do vote, and when we make sure that young people have access to be able to vote, they do.

Fish said although student voter turnout saw a resurgence in 2018, student voters need to be constantly engaged throughout their lives.

People need to be engaged democratically on an ongoing basis, during and between elections, Fish said. Thats the only way to help realize the goals and vision of full participation among students.

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TX Votes members recognized by ALL IN Democracy Challenge for increasing student voting participation - UT The Daily Texan

To protect and strengthen a "democracy in peril," more than 150 civil rights organizations on Thursday released a far-reaching policy platform aimed at pressuring policymakers and 2020 candidates to prioritize voting rights.

Led by the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, the organizations offered "concrete policy recommendations" and proposed "a unified vision for ensuring that Americans have a strong, functioning democracy."

The six major areas in which bold reforms must be enacted were identified in the platform, called Vision for Democracy, as:

"When our democracy is in peril, so too are our civil rights," said Vanita Gupta, president of the Leadership Conference. "This platform offers tangible proposals to ensure every eligible voter, no matter who they are and regardless of their race, color, language, or ability can participate freely in our democracy. Our vote is our voice."

Policy recommendations within the platform include passing the Native American Voting Rights Act; prohibiting restrictive voter ID requirements; restoring voting rights to all currently and formerly incarcerated citizens; and standardizing the use of early voting systems across the country.

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The groups, which also include the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Voto Latino, noted that none of the 2020 Democratic presidential debates have included questions about voting rights, despite recent reports that 17 million Americans were purged from voter rolls between 2016 and 2018 and that voting machines across the country are at risk for malfunctions and cyberattacks.

"On the eve of the next Democratic presidential candidate debate, we implore the debate moderators to ask candidates questions about their proposals to build a truly representative democracy that ensures all voices are heard," the coalition said.

Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, emphasized that the current vulnerabilities and unequal rights within the U.S. voting system are the result of political choices.

"At the current moment, our voting system is neither secure, equally accessible, nor fair," Ifill said. "The good news is that there are simple and direct solutions to every one of the problems with our voting system. Now all we need is the will, determination, and responsible leadership of elected and other public officials to come together and address this crisis."

Kristen Clarke of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law added that the policy platform comes six years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key portion of the Voting Rights Act which aimed, among other things, to combat racial discrimination at the polls.

"We face these threats without important statutory protections that have served as a bulwark against voter suppression since 1965, and with a dormant Department of Justice," Clarke said. "Vision for Democracy sets forth a comprehensive and robust blueprint for tearing down the obstacles and barriers that, too often, lock out African Americans and other racial minorities from the electoral process. This blueprint is needed more than ever."

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To Save 'Democracy in Peril,' 150 Civil Rights Groups Release Visionary Blueprint to Restore and Protect Voting Rights - Common Dreams

Alberta Chief Electoral Officer Lorne Gibson in front of the Legislature in this Postmedia file photo.John Lucas / Postmedia

The United Conservative Party governments move to terminate the provinces election commissioner and move the role under the chief electoral officer raises questions about independence and risks undermining Albertans faith in democracy, the outgoing commissioner said.

Election commissioner Lorne Gibson found out through news reports Monday a government bill would end his contract four years early, he said in a Tuesday statement.

The government move, done in the name of administrative efficiency, could potentially jeopardize any ongoing investigations into elections violations, including the UCPs 2017 leadership race. People and organizations involved in that race have already faced a combined $211,000 in fines and penalties after the commissioner said they funnelled money improperly to candidates, colluded to organize forbidden campaign donations and obstructed an investigation.

Earlier this year, evidence surfaced suggesting leadership contender Jeff Callaway was a kamikaze candidate in the new partys leadership contest, there to attack former Wildrose leader Brian Jean, and that Callaways campaign staff co-operated with now-Premier Jason Kenneys staff.

In a Tuesday statement, Gibson said he was surprised and disappointed to learn that if the governments Bill 22 passes and receives royal assent, hell be out of a job.

This disappointment stems from my firm belief that the citizens of Alberta must have confidence and trust in the integrity of all aspects of the provincial electoral process, not just the casting and counting of ballots on election day, Gibson said. This includes trust and confidence that the election laws established by the legislative assembly are being followed and that there are consequences for those who choose not to follow them.

November 19, 2019 Media Release Aberta Election Commissioner by edmontonjournal on Scribd

The election commissioner position was created in 2018 by the former NDP government after it introduced new rules banning corporate and union donations and capping political contributions. The province needed an office separate from the chief electoral officer to enforce the new rules and investigate potential wrongdoing, they said.

Introduced on Monday, the omnibus Bill 22 would move the commissioners role under the chief electoral officer. That officer, or a newly hired commissioner, would decide whether to continue any ongoing investigations into election rule breaking.

The Opposition NDP has alleged the move smacks of corruption and could interfere with ongoing investigations into potential wrongdoing by members of government.

Government house leader Jason Nixon said Tuesday a new commissioners work would be even more independent from government, because they would report to the chief electoral officer, not the legislature.

Any investigations that the chief electoral officer and the election commissioner deem that need to continue forward will continue, and thats the process were going forward with, he told reporters.

Senior investigations manager Steve Kaye, who works in Gibsons office, said Tuesday he could not say whether the commissioner has any ongoing investigations into the UCP leadership race, or any other investigations, for that matter.

He wouldnt speculate on how the structural change might affect ongoing court appeals of the commissioners findings by Callaway and others.

Gibsons letter said he has received 800 complaints since it opened last year.

NDP Opposition leader Rachel Notley said Tuesday she would try everything she could think of to halt Bill 22. She penned a letter to Albertas Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell Tuesday asking her not to grant the bill royal assent, saying Notley has grave concerns that Bill 22 is a misuse of the authority of the legislature.

Nixon said Notleys allegations of collusion and investigation interference are utterly ridiculous and fake outrage.

In Tuesday question period, Notley asked the premier (who was in Texas) to withdraw the bill, saying it attempts to cover up the truth and potentially obstruct justice.

When Nixon disputed Gibson was being fired from the commissioner role, Notley said he was misleading the house.

Speaker Nathan Cooper interjected to say house rules do not permit members to accuse one another of lying or misleading. When Cooper told her to apologize and withdraw the statement, Notley refused, which prompted Cooper to dismiss her from the chamber for the rest of Tuesday.

After, Notley told reporters it was her first time being ejected from the house since elected in 2008.

We will not stand by while people are fired for doing their job trying to hold this government to account, she said.

According to the legislature library, the last time a member was ejected from the house was April 18, 2016, when then-Progressive Conservative party leader Ric McIver refused to sit down when he didnt like a ruling by the speaker. Speaker Bob Wanner dispatched the Sargeant-at-Arms to escort him from the chamber.

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Election commissioner worries his firing will erode public trust in democracy - Edmonton Journal

With just under a year until Americans elect their next president, "America: Are We Ready? A November Democracy Big Think," will discuss what's working and what's broken; what's threatened and what's missing in American democracy?

WRVO will be airing "America: Are We Ready? A November Democracy Big Think," a live national call-in program presented by WNYC and hosted by Brian Lehrer this Sunday, November 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This program will preempt "The Ted Radio Hour," "Freakonomics Radio," and "Studio 360" for that day.

During this three hour live call-in program, the topics of discussion will be -- the impeachment process in American democracy, how different groups of Americans feel left out of decisions made by people in power and finally, how can electoral democracy be as democratic as possible?

Join us this Sunday, November 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for this live call-in program, hosted by Brian Lehrer.

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America: Are We Ready? A November Democracy Big Think - WRVO Public Media

There was a sad but inevitable announcement last week: The Charlotte Observer is eliminating one of its days in print.

Sometime next year, there will no longer be a printed edition of the Observer on Saturdays. Its part of a cost-saving measure by McClatchy, the papers corporate owner. All 30 of the companys papers nationwide are doing, or have already done, the same thing.

If youre under a certain age lets say, you never listened to music on cassettes then this might not matter to you. But for the rest of us, its one more piling knocked out from under the pier not just for the newspaper business, but journalism as a whole.

I worked for the Observer for 23 years. My wife worked there for 26. We still have close friends there. Even though I now work here at WFAE, one of the papers competitors, the ink is still deep in my blood. Reading the printed paper every morning is like taking a shower or brushing my teeth. Its the daily routine.

And for 100 years or more, millions of Americans followed that same routine. People thought of the paper as a public utility. If you turn on the faucet, you expect water to come out. If you look on your front steps, you expect the paper to be there.

But when the Internet arrived, the newspaper business changed for good. Why is the paper so much smaller now? Because classified ads ran off to places like Craigslist and eBay, and display ads fragmented across a million different websites. The reason a paper cost only a quarter a day was that advertisers paid most of the cost. When they left, papers cut staff to save money. That shrunk the paper, in size and scope. Which meant readers started leaving, too. That has become a death spiral that most papers have been unable to escape.

The big national papers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal still thrive. Small-town papers in many places still do well because they have news that readers cant get anywhere else. But the papers in the middle, in places like Charlotte, are in deep trouble.

There are lots of other ways to get your news now. But in nearly every city, there are fewer professional journalists than there were 10 or 20 years ago. That makes it harder for citizens to know whats going on, and easier for the corrupt among us to get away with things.

Democracy dies in darkness. Thats the official slogan of the Washington Post, and the unofficial slogan of every journalism shop around. Were one of the only businesses that tells you what you need to know instead of what you want to hear. That makes us unpopular in a lot of places. It also makes us necessary for a free society. Losing one day of print delivery might not sound like much. But it makes the light a little bit dimmer.

Tommy Tomlinsons On My Mind column normally runs every Monday on WFAE and WFAE.org. It represents his opinion, not the opinion of WFAE. You can respond to this column in the comments section below. You can also email Tommy at ttomlinson@wfae.org.

Originally posted here:
Another Painful Cut For Journalism (And Democracy) In Our City - WFAE