Olga, Washington – The media keeps telling us that 70 percent of Republicans still back the bogus claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. But for this November, keep your eye on the 20 to 30 percent of Republicans who reject the Big Lie. They’re likely to cast the deciding votes in […]
For all the uproar among Democrats over restrictive voting laws passed by Republican legislatures in 17 states, Democrats have only recently awakened to the more dangerous threat to American democracy – Republican moves to take partisan control of counting votes and even overturn the popular vote in future elections. For months, Democrats in Congress and […]
Washington – Given the drumbeat of grim news about the coronavirus and the interminable imbroglio over Donald Trump’s inability to accept defeat, how about some good news for a change? Good news about a grassroots citizen coalition winning a stunning victory to reform elections in Alaska. Yes, while the lower 48 states are mired in […]
Washington – With the election just days away, are you getting tired of the scaremongering and mud-slinging in the presidential campaign? How about some good news for a change? Good news about political reforms to make American elections fairer, more transparent, and more inclusive, and to help rebuild the political middle, so desperately missing in […]
WASHINGTON – Do you sometimes feel as if our democracy is coming apart at the seams? Gridlock, hate speech, dark money, negative ads, political parties at each others throats instead of working together for our common good? It’s almost enough to make you give up on American democracy. But please,don’t go there. Because I know […]
Washington – No state has done more for voter rights and ballot access this year than Virginia, and women were the key drivers of those reforms. Go back half a dozen years and Virginia’s state government looked Deep South and Deep Red. The Virginia legislature was run by Republicans, mastered and marshaled by men. Democrats […]
by Hedrick Smith What struck me when I began reporting on grassroots citizen reform movements in states as varied as Florida, Connecticut, and South Dakota was how creative and ingenious political amateurs were in generating ideas for reform and how gutsy and resourceful they were in mobilizing millions of voters to adopt state-level reforms […]
Washington – The 2018 elections may be a mixed bag for Democrats and Republicans but this has been a boom year for grass roots political reformers, whose jackpot was the powerful WethePeople backlash in seven states against partisan gerrymandering. Citizen rebellions in five states – Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Colorado and Utah – forced referendums and […]
Hedrick Smith, who conceived this website and is its principal writer and architect, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times reporter and Emmy award-winning documentary producer for PBS and PBS FRONTLINE. more »
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