July 2022
ENGAGE!
CID Newsletter
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California’s Formerly Incarcerated: Challenges and Opportunities in Accessing Voting Rights |
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Over the last two decades, voting rights for those incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, or who have had a criminal conviction have continued to evolve.
Among changes have been the extension of voting rights to people serving a felony sentence in jail, as well as to others in select community supervision programs. In 2020, California voters also passed Proposition 17, which restored the right to vote to people on parole.
For the report, CID conducted focus groups with formerly incarcerated individuals and interviewed leading voting rights experts in this field to examine:
- What are the voting experiences of people who have been incarcerated or have a criminal conviction?
- What are the voting preferences of people who are incarcerated, formerly incarcerated or have a criminal conviction?
- What is the experience of organizations addressing voter enfranchisement that serve people who are incarcerated, formerly incarcerated or have a criminal conviction?
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‘Just following what he said’: Takeaways from the Jan. 6 hearing on Trump’s actions and the riot |
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The LA Times reviews and provides key takeaways from the July 12th hearing from the Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The most recent hearing was July 21, which was streamed live on the Committee’s website. |
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Senators announce bipartisan bills to protect elections |
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Two measures have been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would overhaul the Electoral Count Act and close other loopholes in election law to prevent future coup attempts. Called the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act and the Enhanced Election Security and Protection Act, the measures are being led by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. |
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County election boards struggle with states over voter fraud claims |
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Several counties have turned the normally routine election result certification process into a new flashpoint, setting the stage for potential legal fights in November and beyond. In recent weeks, county-level GOP officials in New Mexico and Pennsylvania have clashed with state agencies about certifying results from primary elections held this spring, citing concerns about voting machines and certain mail-in ballots. |
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The Future of California Elections: Democracy for All: What's Next for Building Equity in California's Elections? |
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CID’s Mindy Romero will be one of the keynote speakers at this event, providing her perspective on voter participation and thoughts on the future of elections. Justin Levitt, White House Senior Policy Advisor for Democracy and Voting Rights, will give the other featured keynote.
Monday, July 25, 2022
Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport
2500 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505
Note that the conference will also be available virtually.
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New Democracy Research & Resources |
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In this blog post, PPIC’s Eric McGhee reflects on the anniversary of two important electoral reforms: The Citizens Redistricting Commission that redraws California’s representational districts after every decennial census, and the Top Two open primary change, which allows voters to choose a candidate of any party for each office. The 2022 election marks the first time in 10 years that both reforms will have an impact together. |
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Below is a selection of recent CID media coverage:
CID’s Mindy Romero weighs in on the Los Angeles mayoral race.
Low turnout in primaries has become the accepted norm, Mindy Romero told the Los Angeles Daily News, which means a small proportion of people are making the decisions for everybody. “It’s about voters not knowing sometimes if there is a primary and why it matters.”
Even with the vote-by-mail option available for the June 7 California primary, voter turnout was very low. “We’ve got an acceptance in our society around how we talk about primaries, the way they are structured can be confusing to people,” Romero told reporter Kaitlyn Schallhorn. “There’s an information gap, and that information gap intensifies the disparity gap.”
Latino advocacy groups this month are gearing up to mobilize voters ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. Romero tells the Sacramento Bee that candidate campaigns tend to plan their voter outreach based on models showing which people are most likely to vote. That can lead to fewer attempts to connect with Latinos.
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Check out the job opportunities below: |
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Center for Inclusive Democracy |
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The Center for Inclusive Democracy (CID) is part of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and is based in Sacramento. CID conducts a range of national and multi-state research initiatives exploring voting behavior, civic engagement, electoral and economic research, the intersection of social justice and democracy, and more. Its research informs and empowers a wide range of policy and organizing efforts aimed at eliminating disparities in social and economic well-being. Now a cornerstone project nested within CID’s larger umbrella, the CCEP continues to produce groundbreaking resources and research for California. |
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