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Amid all the divisive ugliness inside the Beltway, here is some good news: 2018 may well be the best year in a half century for election reform. Today’s narrative laments a crumbling democracy, alienated voters, and a political culture spiraling ever downward. While true, that narrative is incomplete. It misses the remarkable energy building across many states to confront these problems, shore up our democracy, and rebuild our political culture. Nowhere is that energy more apparent than in the

As the midterm elections swiftly approach, the heat is on for voters to make big decisions about the future of our nation. In an era of media partisanship and political gridlock, voters face a tough time sifting through the information to come to terms with what is true and what is not. The 2018 American Civic Collaboration Awards have recognized organizations which represent excellence in elevating democracy and civic engagement through collaboration and with measurable results to back up the

As Brett Kavanaugh proceeds through an FBI investigation, a partisan war, and a scathing court of public opinion, the world seems to have forgotten the institution he is headed toward - the Supreme Court. Shorthanded by one, with a bench of eight, the court started its 2018-’19 session Monday. Its current roster of cases may not sound very exciting to some (the fate of an endangered frog vs landowners), but three major partisan gerrymandering cases hit the Supreme Court during its last session

I. The State of Self-Driving Car Technology and The Possibilities In the 1990 film, Total Recall (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone), the protagonist played by the now former governor of California hails a self-driving car with a humanoid, robotic attendant sitting where a human driver would. What makes the surreal scene eerily prophetic is how Schwarzenegger asks the AI cab driver questions like one might ask Alexa, Siri, or Google's voice assistant, and the "Johnny Cab" sasses

NORTH CAROLINA - Plaintiffs in the North Carolina gerrymandering case -- including Common Cause and the state's League of Women Voters --  are asking federal judges to hold off on forcing the state to redraw its congressional districts ahead of the 2018 elections. A federal court ruled on August 27 that the state's congressional map constituted a partisan gerrymander and was thus unconstitutional. The court further ruled that the maps may need to be redrawn before the midterm elections -- now t

Modern data-driven map making capabilities have made the age-old practice of drawing congressional districts to favor a political party – gerrymandering – a frighteningly precise and effective weapon in American politics.A SCOTUS punt of two high-profile cases that were before the Supreme Court this summer (one an example of Republican partisan gerrymandering, the other Democratic) led to citizen ballot initiatives in several states, while just this week in North Carolina, a federal court ruled

A three-judge panel ruled Monday that North Carolina's congressional districts once again violated the US Constitution. This time, however, it was not on racial grounds -- but partisan. The court further ruled that the maps may need to be redrawn ahead of the November elections, just a little over two months away. North Carolina legislators are expected to ask the Supreme Court to intervene. The high court is short a justice after Anthony Kennedy's resignation. Lower courts appear to be incre

If a Washington, D.C. voter doesn't interface with a party - specifically the Democratic Party - an unelected board of elections can legally declare that citizen has no right to vote for a municipal council member in the city where the citizen works and lives. Independent voters in Washington, DC are legally disenfranchised from casting ballots in City Council elections solely on the basis of abstaining from registering allegiance with a party, official documents show. The District of Columbia

Americans are angry about the apathetic approach to our online data security by our state and federal governments, as well as tech giants. Repeatedly our data is compromised. The thieves are sometimes hackers, hell-bent on creating false identities or worse, and sometimes the culprits are big businesses making a buck off the personal preferences we offer up for free. I sat down with Morgan Wright, a cyber-security expert,  to get his perspective on what the near future may hold for our data sec

Americans have to admit that our democracy -- the great experiment -- is dead. Our government does not look or function as our Founding Fathers intended. In fact, it has failed in the fundamental purpose it was founded for -- to respond to the will of the people. As a nation, we have found ways to subvert the will of the people by reversing how the voting process works. The use of gerrymandering has allowed those that run for office to select who will vote for them. Partisan gerrymandering has