It is easy to find bad news on voting rights. In many states, there has been legislation, litigation, and other efforts to chip away at the right to vote. Politicians, pundits, and institutional actors—such as the United States Supreme Court—have advocated for and assisted in the widespread erosion of the most fundamental right in our democracy. When focusing on these anti-democracy efforts, it seems impossible to think that there might be good news on voting rights. But good news exists. We should highlight those measures to show what is possible.
Democracy Optimist provides this uncommon perspective—a positive view for voting rights and our democracy. That is not to say that there aren’t major issues we should address, especially on equal voting rights for all, voter suppression, and discrimination. But instead of just focusing on the problems, we also need strong solutions.
We need special emphasis on the “good news”. There is frequent compromise on the right to vote, and there is progress. Across the country, at all levels of government, individuals continue to fight for and protect our democracy’s most fundamental right: the right to vote. Democracy Optimist will therefore highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly on election law and voting rights, with a dose of hope sprinkled in.
I also host a podcast of the same name in which I have conversations with experts in democratic processes, elections, and voting rights to ask a simple but vital question: how do we sustain our democracy? I upload these conversations weekly on all podcasting platforms. Take a listen here.
Finally, given that our democracy belongs to all of us, I welcome questions from readers. Feel free to reach out to me at joshuadouglas@uky.edu.
Note: UK political science major Jack Bizzell is serving as a research assistant on this project and helps with crafting the posts for this Substack.
