A middle-class standard of living requires that families have adequate financial security to meet current obligations, invest in the future, and access opportunities. The Middle Class Security Index, created by Demos and the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, focuses on five interrelated factors that in combination describe the security or vulnerability of middle-class families—assets, education, housing, budget and healthcare.
The household economy — especially small business, homeowners and student borrowers — will continue to suffer during a sever tightening of lending credit and capital, in spite of the federal rescue plan, this new report shows.
The New Squeeze underscores how the continuing fallout from sub-prime speculation, resetting Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) and a severe tightening of lending credit and capital could impact the United States household economy for years to come.
Authors R. Michael Alvarez (California Institute of Technology) and Jonathan Nagler (New York University) have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should Hawaii adopt Election Day Registration (EDR).
In July 2008, 49 advocates, scholars, and thinkers met in Washington, D.C. and came to agreement on the outlines of a broad agenda for democracy reform. In the weeks that followed, the participants broke into workgroups and developed the recommendations outlined in this document. Our ideas rest on a set of shared convictions about what democracy ought to mean. We envision an America that encourages the maximum levels of voter turnout, practices people-centered governance, and actively seeks and genuinely values everyone’s participation.
Toward an Equal Electorate draws upon available data to show that low-income voter registration in public assistance agencies have increased anywhere from 22 percent to over 2,600 percent compared to previous years. In the five states examined — North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Missouri — an additional 125,290 low-income voters have registered at public assistance agencies prior to the November election, most within the past several months.
In July 2008, 49 advocates, scholars, and thinkers met in Washington, D.C. and came to agreement on the outlines of a broad agenda for democracy reform. In the weeks that followed, the participants broke into workgroups and developed the recommendations outlined in this document.
The 2008 Election Primer: Election Administration, Voting Rights & Legal Challenges, provides a comprehensive account of the latest research and litigation on key election issues — including voter registration challenges, voter access, fraud allegations, federal voting requirements, as well as voting rights for low-income citizens, veterans, and citizens with felony convictions.
Under the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), voters whose names cannot be found on the voter rolls on Election Day or who cannot meet HAVA’s new voter identification requirement must be provided a provisional ballot. These provisional votes are subsequently counted if local election officials are able to verify that the individual is a legitimate voter under state law. With predictions of record turnout, including millions of first-time voters, provisional ballots may play a significant role in the 2008 election.
Voter registrations in Virginia public assistance agencies declined by 87 percent between 1995-1996 and 2005-2006, despite increased enrollment in public benefit programs like food stamps. Field investigators in early 2008 confirmed that state offices were not offering voter registration, as required by the National Voter Registration Act. Working cooperatively with Demos and its state partners, Virginia has achieved a dramatic change of course. The first several data reports indicate an eightfold increase in voter registrations.
America needs an election process that is efficient, trustworthy, and welcoming. We need a renewed sense of citizenship and service, and a government that people can believe in.
Americans are confused and anxious about trade and globalization. On the one hand, many voters fear for their jobs and living standards, worrying about rising competition from developing nations. On the other hand, many Americans see clear benefits from globalization, believe that the United States must engage in the global economy, and want poorer nations to develop. Trading Up offers a new framework for understanding and responding to this phenomenon — one that balances a commitment to markets and open trade with dramatic efforts to reduce inequities and insecurities.
Election Day Registration (EDR), which allows eligible voters to register and cast a ballot on Election Day, is a reform that reduces the unnecessary disfranchisement of eligible voters that may be caused by arbitrary registration deadlines.
The Economic State of Young America is a comprehensive databook offering proof that a combination of declining incomes, growing debt, and high costs of education, homeownership and healthcare are conspiring to make this generation the first to not surpass the living standards of their parents. The report examines the financial condition of today's young adults across key economic indicators, including jobs and income, debt and savings, college access and attainment, and housing affordability.
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2007 was the first year that the North Carolina General Assembly seriously considered Same Day Registration. SDR bills had been introduced in prior years and attracted legislative support, but never gained sufficient traction. This report recounts North Carolina's road to Same Day Registration from three different perspectives: legislative supporters, elections officials and the advocacy community.
When Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993, its goals were to “increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office” and “protect the integrity of the electoral process.”Yet, while most states created effective programs for mail-in and Department of Motor Vehicles-based registration processes, many neglected the NVRA’s social service agency requirements (detailed in Section 7 of the Act). This paper outlines and highlights the outstanding and thorough work of the North Carolina Board of Elections in responding to ev
We have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should Vermont adopt Election Day Registration (EDR). Under the system proposed in Vermont, eligible voters who miss the current six-day deadline for registering by mail may be able to register to vote on Election Day. The availability of Election Day Registration procedures should give voters who have not previously registered the opportunity to vote. Consistent with existing research on the impact of EDR in the other states that use this process, we find that EDR would likely lead to substantial increases in voter turnout.
As the next installment in the By a Thread series, Economic (In)Security uses the Middle Class Security Index to provide the first comprehensive portrait of the level of financial security enjoyed by African-American and Latino middle-class families. The findings show that, in the wake of fading economic opportunity, these two rapidly growing groups face mounting obstacles in becoming part of, and remaining securely in, America's middle class.
Twelve years since the enactment of the NVRA, states across the country have regularly failed to comply with public assistance voter registration requirements.
In the Red or In the Black? looks at whether household savings serve to protect families from incurring unsecured debt, and in turn, whether the presence of unsecured debt acts as a barrier to savings and wealth accumulation.