Good News for Democracy

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Recently, we have been noticing a lot of signals and research that mean good news for the state of democracy in America. While many narratives would have us believe that America is headed for a post-democracy reality, here are indicators that make us think otherwise:

• Democracy was a top concern for Americans in the Midterm Election. According to results from AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide, about half of voters said inflation factored significantly in their vote, but only slightly fewer voters–44% — said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.
• Concerns about violence or election subversion did not play out in the Midterm Election. As A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy points out, polling places were fully staffed, election protection volunteers were in place to assist voters, losing candidates are (mostly) conceding, and state judiciaries played an important role in last-minute issues, showcasing their checks-and-balances role in election-related disputes. In short, democracy held.
• Young Americans’ votes were critical in key Midterm races. According to CIRCLE, early estimates of youth voting in the 2022 Midterms suggest the second highest youth voter turnout for a midterm election in the past 30 years, and even higher in key battleground states. As CIRCLE points out, this is encouraging for “a generation that is increasingly engaged even as many remain disillusioned about U.S. politics.”
• Civic education has incredibly high support from parents and voters on both sides. In releasing new polling from Cygnal, Brent Buchanan (President) said “This is the most positive issue research I’ve had the opportunity to do in a long time…it shows what a broad base of support civic education has, and the desire for more of it,” and this held true across parties, ideologies, income levels, and more. Polling also indicated that there is wide public support for putting more African American history into schools; the data do not suggest that voters and parents are assuming that civic education is a subversive tactic to advance “critical race theory.”
• Voters rejected election deniers running for key election-oversight offices in six battleground states in the 2022 Midterms. Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Wisconsin all had candidates on the ballot for secretary of state and/or governor who denied the 2020 election results. In every case, voters rejected these candidates and instead elected people who pledged to continue holding safe, secure, and fair elections.

We hope these points leave you with the same optimism for the future that we feel. What signals are you noticing? What democracy “good news” are you seeing? Share it with us!