Welcome to the State of Democracy Website

The State of Democracy project seeks to identify the current state of our democratic institutions. We work with partners across the state to assess the health of our democracy.

The State of Democracy Project has identified six key areas of democratic reform that need our attention. Each of the pages below contains recent news and resources related to the issue.

• Campaign Finance
• Census and Redistricting
• Partisanship/Transparency
• Election Integrity and Access
• Judicial Independence
• Civic Education

What's Happening Now?

Petition drives may limit the right to vote for many

People in Duluth, Minneapolis, and St. Paul are being asked to sign a petition that would require already registered voters to show a valid, government-issued photo ID before they would be allowed to vote. Although the proposal sounds reasonable on the surface, its actual impact would limit the ability of many citizens to cast their ballot. The elderly, people with disabilities, voters who are poor, and students would be particularly impacted as they are less likely to have a current photo ID and are more likely to have barriers that prevent them from obtaining one. Read more.

Photo ID raises costs and burdens to solve a voting problem Minnesota doesn't have, by Keesha Gaskins, Pioneer Press
 

FEC allows soft money to be spent on redistricting fight

The Federal Elections Commission Ruled on Friday that money spent on redistricting is not in connection with a federal election and is therefore not subject to the spending limits set by the McCain-Finegold Act.  According to opensecrets.org, member of Congress will now be able to help partisan committees raise unlimited amounts of soft money to pay for legal and administrative costs associated with redistricting efforts.
 
The Campaign Legal Center responded by saying that, "This advisory opinion ignores both the letter and the intent of the ‘soft money’ ban in McCain-Feingold. To declare that redistricting activities are not “in connection with” elections ignores the realities of the process. The outcomes of elections for some congressional seats for the next decade will be determined by those who draw the lines during the redistricting process."
 
The decision may play a role in RNC vs FEC, where the Republican National Committee is trying to lift the ban on soft money for activities like voter registration, get-out-the-vote operations, expenses in state-level elections and grassroots lobbying.

To read the ruling, click here. 

Recent News

White House releasing open government plans - Washington Post

Minnesota Counties receiving the most federal aid - Smart Politics

Rules for Congress curb but don't end junkets  - New York Times

League of Women Voters of Illinois lead change to Illinois' redistricting process - Chicago Tribune

Minnesota groups among top political donors - Politics in Minnesota

Are northern states being cheated out of the census? - Census Project Blog

Accounting for the Census Clause-Brennan Center for Justice

 

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The League of Women Voters Education Fund with generous funding from the Joyce Foundation, runs the State of Democracy Project.