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Last week, Congress avoided a government shutdown by agreeing to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for another week. Then over the weekend, US lawmakers agreed to a deal that will extend funding through September while Congress and the White House continue to negotiate longer-term fiscal policy priorities. The US House passed the budget deal Wednesday. But amidst Washington's annual kabuki theater dance around fiscal policy and possible government shutdowns, a litt

A total of 31 lawmakers in Massachusetts are co-sponsoring  H. 2897, which would allow towns, municipalities, and cities to use ranked choice voting for their local elections. Originally sponsored by Representative Mike Connolly, H. 2897 also specifies certain requirements for ranked choice voting ballots, establishes ranked choice voting election procedures, and gives local governments the option to return to their prior voting method after using ranked choice voting for four years. During the

The 2016 election cycle was an exceptionally rough one for voters and candidates alike. The divisive rhetoric and lack of support for the major-party candidates revealed a failure in our system to engage all voters and demographics alike. Last year, around 28 million independent voters registered nationwide to participate in the electoral process, becoming the fastest growing voting demographic in the United States. Yet, many states such as Massachusetts and New Jersey disenfranchised independ

The Bernie revolution set grassroots on fire. It got young people involved like we haven’t seen in years. It shifted the dialogue to things the media had not focused on before, things that were important to voters. Now young people are staying involved, grassroots politics looks like it hasn't in a very long time. People are marching and protesting every single week throughout the country. Many who were a part of the Bernie revolution have turned to #TheResistance, and Elizabeth Warren is becom

Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, on this day, January 31, 1919, 98-years ago. He grew up to become the most important black man in American history and its greatest athlete. Before MLK, Jr., there was Jackie; before Selma, there was Jackie; before Thurgood Marshall served on the Supreme Court, there was Jackie; before Brown v. Board of Education, there was Jackie, and before President Truman desegregated the military, there was Jackie. At UCLA, Jackie starred in football, basketbal

As the new year gets underway, state legislatures around the country are convening to tackle the issues of the day. In at least nine states, electoral reform is on the agenda. Building on the momentum of historic wins for ranked choice voting in Maine and Benton County, Oregon, lawmakers from Massachusetts to Hawaii have introduced bills that would expand its use in their states. The bills vary in their scope and history. Bills in Virginia and Connecticut would adopt ranked choice voting for al

In the wake of a highly contentious 2016 election, reformers continue to make use of America's general dissatisfaction with the political status quo in order to mend our broken electoral system. From fighting for ranked choice voting, to opening primaries, and even hosting small forums to ease divides and encourage involvement in politics, many are hard at work to improve the way elections operate. The following updates have been provided by the organizations themselves: FairVote Last year,

With a Trump presidency coupled with a GOP Congress on the near horizon, changes in health care reform are finally on the table. Other than those with preexisting conditions, many on the left haven’t been thrilled with Obamacare but will defend it as a “step in the right direction,” presumably toward universal health care or a single-payer system. The right didn't initially respond with pointing out what was actually wrong with Obamacare, somehow feeling the need to engage in hyperbole until th

This week, Forbes shocked readers with the observation that legal marijuana sales in the United States for 2016 were larger -- and growing at a faster pace -- than the dot-com boom of the early 2000s. The news is based on findings by Arcview Market Research, the leading industry data researcher for the burgeoning regulated marijuana market in the United States. According to Arcview in a recent report, legal marijuana sales in the U.S. and Canada grew by a meteoric 30% in 2016 to $6.7 billion.

On Tuesday morning, President-elect Donald Trump posted to Twitter: Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!November 29, 2016 His comments follow a series of demonstrations at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts over the last week. The flag was lowered to half-staff on Wednesday, November 9, and, at some point Thursday evening or early Friday morning, the lowered flag was removed and burne