The Democracy Lab

Democracy isn't just an outcome; it's a process and a practice built on the local infrastructure of our everyday communities. This week, Eveline talks with the National Civic League's Rebecca Trout about what it takes to cultivate a healthy, participative democratic ecosystem. From fostering grassroots dialogue through Civic Genius to connecting change-makers via the Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map, discover how NCL is helping citizens rebuild civic trust from the ground up.

In this episode, Eveline sits down with Colin Cole and Heather Villanueva from More Equitable Democracy to break down their individual and organizational theories of change and why their focus on proportional representation is critical. They also discuss MED's Electoral Justice Initiative, aimed at advancing proportional representation in jurisdictions across the country that has a proven track record in many cities already.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our musings on Substack.

Eveline sits down with Kevin Johnson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Election Reformers Network (ERN), to discuss the past, present, and future problem of partisan election officials in America. They dive into the reasons why the U.S. is the only modern democracy with this set-up, and what that means for how groups like the ERN advocate for change.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our musings on Substack.

Constitutional amendments are not just theoretical. In this episode, Expand Democracy President and Founder Rob Richie sits down with Jeff Clements, CEO of American Promise, to discuss the movement underway to reject Citizens United. Learn how 25 states, most recently Idaho, have passed legislation in support of a constitutional amendment, and how more are on the way.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our musings on Substack.

The Electoral College isn't going anywhere, but there's a way to work around it without a constitutional amendment.Rob sits down with Chris Pearson, Executive Director of National Popular Vote, to talk about the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, what it would take to get it over the finish line, and what two decades of state-level reform advocacy actually looks like from the inside.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our musings on Substack.

Young leaders are taking the democracy space by storm.In this episode, our own Gen Z fellow Nivea Krishnan sits down with Alex Edgar (Made By Us), LaJuan Allen (Vote16USA) and Jahnavi Rao (New Voters) to discuss the world of youth civic engagement. Their conversation unpacks effective organizing strategies, identifies trends in youth participation, and underscores the way we must collaborate inter-generationally to expand democracy.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our musings on Substack.

This week on The Democracy Lab, Nivea sits down with Bill Gates, Executive Director of the Mechanics of Democracy Lab, to explore how artificial intelligence can transform election administration. they unpack how AI tools could ease the burden on election officials, improve accuracy and efficiency, and strengthen trust in the democratic process.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our analyses on Substack.

In 2024, 7% of voters effectively elected 87% of Congress.How? That's what Eveline dives into in this week's episode with Beth Hladick, Policy Director at Unite America. They discuss the biggest solvable problem of our democracy: opening the primaries to ensure that they are truly fair, free, and representative. Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our musings on Substack.

Trust in institutions is eroding, and the judiciary is no exception.In this episode, Democracy Fellow Nivea Krishnan speaks with democracy and justice reform Bert Brandenburg about the judicial branch's historical relationship with public confidence and the specific levers we can pull to rebuild judicial legitimacy. Whether you're an impassioned community member, judge, organizer or politician, there's a part for you to play.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our musings on our Substack.

In this episode, Eveline speaks with documentarian Todd Drezner and attorney Jared Pettinato about their upcoming project detailing Pettinato's fight to revitalize a long-ignored provision of the 14th Amendment and restore the governmental obligation to protect the right to vote. Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our musings on Substack.

Why does the United States have such a durable two-party system, and why is it so difficult for new parties to compete? Rob Richie talks with ballot access pioneer Richard Winger and Libertarian leader Bill Redpath about the history and legal battles surrounding ballot access in American elections. They also explore reforms such as ranked choice voting, fair debate access, primary reform, and proportional representation.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and our analyses on Substack.

Alana Persson of RepresentWomen joins Eveline to preview the upcoming Democracy Solutions Summit, a global virtual gathering of women leaders advancing bold and practical reforms. They explore the ideas gaining traction and why women’s leadership is central to building a more representative democracy.Check out our Substack and expanddemocracy.org to learn more about our work!

In this episode, Rob sits down with Stephen Richer, former Maricopa County Recorder and current Senior Fellow at the Harvard Ash Center, to break down the voting reform bills moving through Congress, namely the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. They unpack what the bill would change about voter registration and election administration, and discuss what it could signal for the future of voting rights and reform in America.Check out our work at expanddemocracy.org and subscribe to our Substack to get our latest musings on the democracy reform landscape.

In this episode, Rob, Eveline, and Nivea explore two under-the-radar developments in the democracy reform movement: a new documentary examining a long-ignored provision of the U.S. Constitution that could enforce voting rights protections, and the growing momentum behind the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. They unpack how these efforts aim to reshape presidential elections, what they reveal about the evolving reform landscape, and what they signal about where the movement could head next.Check out our website and Substack at expanddemocracy.org.

Ballot initiatives are one of the most direct ways people can shape the laws that govern their lives. In this episode, President and Founder of Expand Democracy Rob Richie sits down with Maresa Strano of New America to explore how citizen-led initiatives work, why they’ve been so impactful, and what they reveal about the power of voters when traditional politics breaks down.Check out our work and our Substack today!

Historian Jefferson Cowie joins Expand Democracy Senior Fellow and Research Analyst Eveline Dowling to unpack the core arguments of his book Freedom’s Dominion and the complicated role “freedom” has played in American history. They explore how appeals to freedom have often been used not to expand democracy, but to justify exclusion, control, and oppression. The conversation closes with a timely discussion on what this history means for today’s pro-democracy movement—and how organizers can talk about freedom in ways that truly strengthen democratic values.

In this episode, we sit down with Meredith Sumpter, CEO of FairVote, and Rob Richie, who led the organization for more than three decades, for a wide-ranging conversation on the democracy reform movement. Together, they reflect on how the movement has evolved over time, from strategy and language to public awareness, as well as what core principles have remained constant. Meredith and Rob also discuss the current inflection point for reforms like ranked choice voting and proportional representation, and what recent wins and setbacks reveal about the road ahead. Finally, they share their perspectives on where the movement is headed next, and what it will take to build a more representative, resilient democracy in the years to come.Learn more about the issues we cover at expanddemocracy.org and find our analyses on the state of our democracy on Substack.

In this episode, Rob sits down with Tom Moore from the Center for American Progress to unpack how dark money shapes our political system and what the Transparent Election Initiative is doing in Montana to get rid of it. We also explore the promise and pitfalls of AI election assistants and what they could mean for voters navigating civic information. Plus, we dig into the ongoing push for DC statehood and why representation remains a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Learn more about the issues we cover and find additional resources at expanddemocracy.org.

In this episode, Senior Fellow Eveline Dowling sits down with political strategist and CEO of Grow Democracy DC Lisa Rice to break down the herculean grassroots effort to bring ranked choice voting to DC and discuss Rice's broader hopes for the democracy reform movement going forward. And, Rob, Eveline, and Nivea spotlight some exciting developments in the democracy space, from research into best practices for election governance to NFL teams' surprising yet welcome leadership in civic engagement.Check out our work and Substack at expanddemocracy.org.

Every democracy is an experiment—and so is this podcast. In our first episode, we unpack ideas like fusion voting and the role of protests in a healthy democracy,, and sit down for an open, cross-generational conversation about how every generation contributes to the movement for a stronger, fairer democracy.Check out our website for more information on our work at expanddemocracy.org, and subscribe to our Substack for deeper dives into the ideas we discuss here!If you have thoughts on future guests and/or topics for us, we want to hear them! Email us at [email protected].