Electoral Reform

We are committed to generate and synthesize research on key civil rights and equal opportunity policies that have been neglected or overlooked.

As part of our expanding policy agenda, we are currently conducting research on electoral reform or "deepening democratic engagement", focusing on:

• research needed in anticipation of the major battle expected in 2007 over reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
• state-level efforts to implement election reform measures;
• strategies to boost effective enforcement of minority voting rights;
• causes and responses to alienation from democratic processes among minority voters, especially younger adults and new citizens.

Our most current research in this area was a report released in July, 2002, on minority groups disfranchisment called "Democracy Spoiled."