American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast

The Federal Election Commission has a New Chair. But It’s Still Paralyzed.

July 9, 2025July 9, 2025

Shana Broussard became chair of the Federal Election Commission July 1st. Problem is, her bipartisan commission, hapless in the best of times, will still be paralyzed. The agency is supposed to have six members, but has only three, so no enforcement can take place.

Tale of Two States: New Mexico Rolls Out Automatic Voter Registration while New Hampshire Mandates ID & Citizenship Docs for Absentee Voters

July 8, 2025July 8, 2025

New Mexico rolled out its automatic voter registration system July 1st, allowing citizens to conveniently register to vote or change residency information while at the DMV. Across the country, New Hampshire’s legislature may burden its elderly and disabled absentee voters by requiring copies of ID when voting by mail, and citizenship papers when registering by mail.

Voters Find Ranked Choice Voting Gives Them More Options, Eliminates Runoffs and is Easy to Use. So Why Have 17 States Banned It?

July 7, 2025July 7, 2025

In a recent report, we told you that 96% of New York City voters found ranked choice voting easy to use and liked that it gave voters more options. So why have 17 states banned ranked choice voting, including five just this year?

Ranked Choice Voting Gets High Marks in NYC Primary, with 96% Finding it Easy to Use and 82% Ranking at Least 2 Candidates

July 6, 2025July 6, 2025

We reported recently on the use of ranked choice voting in New York City’s Democratic Primary. A survey found that 96% of Big Apple voters found it easy to use and 58% agreed that “Ranking allowed me to vote for candidates who aligned with my values." Fifty-two percent felt that "Ranking allowed me to support multiple candidates."

Thomas Jefferson Gets the Credit for the Declaration, but the ‘Independence’ Part Came from Richard Henry Lee on June 7, 1776

July 3, 2025July 3, 2025

Thomas Jefferson is credited with most of the text of the Declaration of Independence. But the “independence” part came from a Virginian named Richard Henry Lee on June 7th, 1776.