Articles by Sara Swann

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Voters in Clark County, Wash., will get the opportunity in 2022 to decide whether to move to ranked-choice voting for future elections. The county’s Charter Review Commission, which is empowered to put initiatives on the ballot, voted Tuesday to move forward with an RCV proposal after surveying residents. Clark, the fourth largest county in Washington, is the s...

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ With the 2021 redistricting cycle in full swing, one-third of the country has already solidified some of its new state and federal districts for the next decade. Sixteen states have completed at least one redistricting plan so far, with 11 of them finalizing maps for both Congress and the state legislature (setting aside states with one congressional district)....

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on the IVN Network with permission from the publisher. ‍ The massive elections reform bill known as the Freedom to Vote Act appears to be headed down the same path as its predecessor: blocked from Senate consideration by a Republican filibuster. Senate Democrats plan to bring the compromise bill to the floor Wednesday for a procedural vote that would allow lawmakers to begin debating the legislation. Howe...

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Nearly all Americans agree that the proliferation of misinformation online is a problem, but few believe they have played a part in spreading it, recent polling found. More than eight in 10 Americans say misinformation is a major problem and 13 percent believe it's a minor problem, according to a survey released Friday by the Pearson Institute for the Study and...

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished with permission from the publisher. ‍ Public opinion of the Supreme Court dropped to its lowest point in two decades after the justices declined to block Texas' controversial abortion law, new polling shows, echoing poor marks for the other branches of government. Two-fifths of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing — a sharp decline from July when 49 percent of people indicated approval,...

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum, and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ The Republican and Democratic parties have dominated politics for decades, with alternative parties occasionally sprouting up but rarely having a significant impact on elections. Political reformers will be closely watching the latest attempt to break that two-party system. Andrew Yang, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president and then...

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished with permission from the publisher. ‍ Ineffective communication between members of Congress and their constituents has led to a breakdown in trust in government and democratic institutions, a recent report found. Lawmakers are inundated with constituent messages every day, but they lack the resources and training for how to respond effectively. As a result, most Americans do not feel heard by their repres...

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Despite more Americans than ever opting to vote by mail in the 2020 election, a comprehensive government report found no significant increase in ballot rejections — refuting former President Donald Trump's claim that mail voting was more susceptible to fraud. Since 2004, the Election Assistance Commission has conducted extensive biennial surveys of how American...

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. To the casual observer, gerrymandering can be difficult to spot, especially with recent technological advancements. But two new tools make it much easier to uncover partisan map manipulation. And it's no coincidence that "good government" groups are unveiling these free tools now. On Thursday, the Census Bureau will release the updated population data states need ...