Become a (Paid) Poll Worker in Your Community—Because Democracy Needs Helpers

Power the Polls is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that’s recruiting the next generation of poll workers. National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, observed this year on Aug. 1, is somewhat of the organization’s Super Bowl. The annual nationwide day of action provides a unique opportunity for all generations to step up and play a crucial role in shaping the democratic process.

Marta Hanson, Power the Polls’ national program manager, was instrumental in building the nonprofit’s partnership coalitions in 2022 and continues the work ahead of the upcoming elections. Amidst her many responsibilities, Hanson spoke with Ms. two days before National Poll Worker Recruitment Day.

Small Donor Public Financing Can Help More Women Get Elected

It’s expensive to run for office: Political ad spending in the 2024 election cycle is expected to exceed $16 billion. And the price of campaigning is a greater barrier for women, who typically have less access than men to the wealthy donors who provide most of this money.

Enter: public financing, a simple but powerful reform that uses public funds to boost small donations to candidates.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Ranked-Choice Voting Victories in the Latest Election; The SAG-AFTRA Strike and Fran Drescher’s Leadership

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Four steps we must take to see more women running in future elections; St. Paul, Minn., which uses ranked-choice voting for local elections, is projected to elect its first women-majority city council; how Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman in the U.S., shifted political rival Alabama Governor George Wallace’s stance on racial segregation; and more.

No Off Years: What’s at Stake in This Week’s Elections

Tuesday, Nov. 7, is the last day for voters in several states to head to the polls to vote in a number of off-year elections. While they may be lower-profile, some of these races are still deeply consequential.

We’ll be watching: Ohio’s pro-abortion ballot measure; Virginia’s state legislature; the Pennsylvania supreme court race; and the Kentucky and Mississippi governors’ races.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Women-Majority City Councils Make a Difference; Remembering ‘Frankenstein’ Author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. In this week’s Weekend Reading, we’ll expose the “tricks” that have haunted our democracy and celebrate the “treats” that can remove these obstacles once and for all.

Here’s a preview: Women-majority city councils (like New York City’s!) make a difference; Missouri’s supreme court is one of just 11 in the country to have a female majority; will Texas’ 12th District will elect another woman to office?; and more.