democracy

I Do the Math That Keeps Elections Honest

It May Not Be Glamorous, But I Travel Around the Country Counting Votes

I was standing outside a metal warehouse building that was part of the Volusia County, Florida elections department on November 16, 2004, worried that I might leave empty-handed.

I had come to inspect official voting machine records from the general election that had taken place 14 days before, following up on a request I’d made under Florida’s Sunshine Law governing public access to government records. At the main elections office downtown, 10 miles away from here, they had only provided me with minty-fresh printouts. That’s not what I’d asked for—I had …

by Bev Harris |

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When 82 Percent Voter Turnout Isn’t Good Enough

Election Participation in My Swedish City Could Crush Any Town in America. But We Decided There Was More to Be Done.

by Bruno Kaufmann |

I did not receive the warmest welcome from my colleagues four years ago, at my very first meeting of the Falun Election Commission. In fact, most members of the authority …

Can Sensationalism Save Democracy?

The Case for Reporting on More Scandals, Worrying Less about Page Views, and Fighting Audience Apathy at Every Turn

Earlier this year, Stephen Colbert triumphantly declared “the first real scandal” of the Obama administration after CNN reported that veterans had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix Veterans …

The Cane That Struck Against Slavery

For Eight Years, Congress Refused to Hear Petitions on Abolition. John Quincy Adams Received This Gift in Recognition of His Battle Against the ‘Gag Rule.’

by Harry R. Rubenstein |

The history of American democracy is often best revealed not in the nation’s founding documents, but in the activism and struggles of countless individuals to create a more perfect union. …

My Stages of Grief for Iraq

The Country I Loved Died in 1990. The Rise of the Islamic State Is My Worst Nightmare.

by Saif Al-Azzawi |

When people ask me how I feel about the latest events in Iraq, I tell them I feel sad. All these people—both Americans and Iraqis who have died since 2003—died …

How Anders Behring Breivik Changed Norway

The Country Tried—and Failed—to Become More Democratic and Open in the Wake of a Terrorist Attack

by Bruno Kaufmann |

Three years ago this week, Norway experienced the worst terrorist attack in its history. Anders Behring Breivik placed a handmade 2,100-pound bomb just outside the prime minister’s office in downtown …


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