Democracy Madness reaches the Final Four – The Fulcrum
The democracy reform movement is full of scores of ideas for improving the American political system, many of them compatible with one another. But we have challenged readers of The Fulcrum to pick their favorites from among a field of 64, narrowing the options as we go. And now we're down to the Final Four.
It's time now to vote in the two semi-final matchups of the Democracy Madness tournament, which features the winners of our "regional" brackets: Voting, Money in Politics, Elections and the Best of the Rest.
On one side of the brackets, we have a matchup between the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (which won upset after upset to rise from the 11th seed in the Elections region to Final Four participant) versus always using paper ballots, which was seeded No. 1 in Best of the Rest. The compact is an agreement among states to cast their electoral votes for the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of each in-state winner. Paper ballots are widely seen as the premier method of guarding against election hacking.
The other half of the bracket features another top seed, undoing Citizens United as the best way to fix Money in Politics, facing off against ranked-choice elections (No. 2 seed), which made a dominating run through the Voting region. The Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC opened the door to unlimited campaign spending by corporations, unions and wealthy individuals and has since become a premier cause among campaign finance reformers. Ranked-choice voting is the most popular form of alternative voting among change advocates. It uses an instant runoff system to guarantee majority support for the winner of an election.
The final round begins Wednesday.
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Democracy Madness reaches the Final Four - The Fulcrum
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- The last Hong Kong pro-democracy party that held street protests disbands - CNN - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- They Demanded Democracy. Years Later, They Are Still Paying the Price. - The New York Times - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- New poll finds about three-quarters of Americans say democracy under threat : Trump's Terms - NPR - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Ford Foundation selects Yale dean and democracy scholar Heather Gerken to succeed Darren Walker - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Why democracy hinges on respect for the court and the rule of law - Deseret News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Bill Moyers journalism strengthened democracy by connecting Americans to ideas and each other, in a long and extraordinary career - The Conversation - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Poll: What Americans think about the state of democracy and how Trump is doing - KUOW - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Damaging and Deadly Heat Domes Nearly Tripled, from Europe to the U.S.: Climatologist Michael Mann - Democracy Now! - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
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- Five years on, Hong Kongs national security law extinguishes last standing pro-democracy party - The Guardian - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Comprehensive Road Repairs Begin on Democracy Boulevard, Expected to Last 10-12 Weeks - The MoCo Show - - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- We the People includes all Americans but July 4 is a reminder that democracy remains a work in progress - WSOC TV - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Right to Democracy and the America the Beautiful for All Coalition Stand with American Samoa in Opposing Unilateral Proposals for Deep Seabed Mining -... - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- In-Depth Exploration of Participatory Democracy and Local Governance Practices in Spain - United Nations Development Programme - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Information overload: Can we keep our minds and our democracy? - Lowy Institute - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
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- Tens of Thousands Flee Gaza City as Israel Issues New Forced Evacuation Orders - Democracy Now! - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Poll: What Americans think about the state of democracy and how Trump is doing - New Hampshire Public Radio - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Top justice decries injury to democracy as hecklers disrupt hearing on Shin Bet appointment - The Times of Israel - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- One of Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy parties disbands - BBC - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
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- The last Hong Kong pro-democracy party that held street protests disbands - AP News - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Forging a future for democracy: Highlights from International IDEA's 30th Anniversary - International IDEA - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- The last Hong Kong pro-democracy party that held street protests disbands - goSkagit - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Zohran and democracy: Three days that shook the world - Salon.com - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
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- US to slash nearly all funding for overseas pro-democracy initiatives: Report - Middle East Eye - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- 'It's not really giving democracy': NYC student journalists on the year that was - Gothamist - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
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- Democracy Affirmed: United States v. Skrmetti and the Return to Self-Government - The Federalist Society - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
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- Becvar: Americans still believe in democracy but disagree on what threatens it most - TheDailyNewsOnline.com - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
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- The Future of Social Democracy: How the German SPD can Win Again - Social Europe - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]