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First, on behalf of the NANR Board, I want to thank our members for making NANR's first Spotlight program on June 8 a big success, highlighting the important work our members are doing to ensure safe and secure elections in times of crises. We’ve elevated the reform conversation for legislators, journalists, and reform practitioners across the country, who now have a better understanding of what we are all about, and the reform solutions we bring to the table to ensure a better representative d

Most Americans believe the US is headed in the wrong direction, trust in the federal government is at dismal levels, and people are consumed by frustration, grief, and/or rage in uncertain and tumultuous times. As former Gehl Foods CEO and prominent political reform activist Katherine Gehl said recently, “Things are not alright with our country.” LISTEN NOW: How We End Division, Dysfunction, and Inaction in a Democracy in Crisis Yet, the public has long felt the US was headed in the wrong d

Editor's Note: This article originally published in The Fulcrum and has been republished with permission from the publisher. ‍ A long, and long-shot, quest to get more candidates onto the presidential debate stage has run aground in a federal appeals court. The Libertarian and Green parties, and the nonprofit advocacy group Level the Playing Field, have been challenging the debate qualifications for six years, arguing they unfairly if not unconstitutionally favored the nominees of the two ma

‍ Imagine an industry where consumer trust has dropped to marginal levels, but nothing in that industry changed. It’s hard to do, right? Even now in the midst of a pandemic and social turmoil we see businesses commit to doing better to adapt to consumer demands. After all, if people don't like their choices they could take their business elsewhere, right? Competition is largely viewed as healthy and beneficial to the growth of any market. It gives consumers options and creates the right

The Georgia elections Tuesday were characterized as “catastrophe.” A new $104 million voting system broke down, many voters couldn’t vote as a result of a ballot shortage, and those who could ended up waiting hours in line to exercise their right to vote. ‍ Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has called for an investigation, but leading advocates for systemic reform say what happened underscores the need for change, including accessible vote-by-mail ballots. “How many democracy deba

In the midst of social turmoil and civil unrest, on top of an ongoing pandemic, the news didn’t spare much time to talk about 9 primary elections held Tuesday -- primaries that, according to vote at home advocates, prove absentee ballots work. Four states -- Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island -- postponed their primary elections to June 2 to allow voters an extended opportunity to request absentee ballots, while DC, Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota largely increased th

The one silver lining pro-voter reformers see in the midst of these unprecedented and troubling times is that voters are now even more aware of the weaknesses in the US political and electoral process, and they want change. Most states with in-person voting scheduled in April were forced to postpone their primaries or elections until the early summer. Meanwhile, the one state that didn’t cancel its in-person voting, Wisconsin, has now reported at least 19 new coronavirus cases as a result. W

With a lot of primary left to go, the Democratic presidential candidates have raised and already spent a small fortune on their White House aspirations. So much for keeping money out of politics, right? As long as the there's politics in money, there will be money in politics. But there are a few good non-partisan political innovations that could improve the way money flows into political campaigns to make the system more transparent and fair to candidates and voters. In the meantime, looking

All the momentum in the 2020 Democratic presidential race appears to be behind US Senator Bernie Sanders after another victory in Nevada over the weekend. Now, headed into the most consequential Super Tuesday in modern history, Sanders may be on track to secure the Democratic nomination early. Super Tuesday, however, will also highlight the deep systemic problems in our electoral process -- problems that leave millions of voters disenfranchised and voiceless. Here is what you need to know just

As we close out November each year, America celebrates Small Business Saturday — where we are encouraged to patronize small brick-and-mortar retail stores during the busiest shopping weekend of the holiday season. These small businesses, companies that employee less than 100 people, make up 98% of the 5.6 million employer firms in the US, and more than one-third of the private sector payroll, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. Yet these companies are put on the sidelin