Jen Dresden

How Could Fusion Voting Create a Path to Proportional Representation?

Fusion voting can be a pathway to proportional representation. Our own @jrdresden.bsky.social joined @msifry.bsky.social at @centerforballotfreedom.org to discuss how:

“What fusion would do is create the space and the ability for more minor parties to grow, to flourish, to build skills."

Fusion as a Pathway to Proportional Representation Lessons from Global Experience and American Electoral Heritage

NEW: How fusion voting—an American tradition allowing candidates to appear on multiple party ballot lines—can bolster efforts to reform our broken politics. It's time to revive this pathway to better representation. Summary is threaded plus full report is 🔗: protectdemocracy.org/work/fusion-...

🎧 Just dropped: the latest episode of our podcast #ThisOldDemocracy! @msifry.bsky.social talks to @jrdresden.bsky.social from @protectdemocracy.org about fusion voting and proportional representation. Give it a listen now. centerforballotfreedom.org/this-old-dem...

For starters - democratic backsliding is neither inevitable nor permanent. Lots of democracies avoid it, and many of those that don’t are able to bounce back by protecting key institutions and leaning into collective action.
www.v-dem.net/media/public...

The next week includes the International Day of Democracy (today), Constitution Day (9/17), and International Day of Peace (9/21).

It’s a good week to look for inspiration and hope, so I’ll be setting aside some time to post studies and data that remind us why the work is worth it.

⚠️ A proposed change to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligibility threatens to politicize the program, targeting those working in areas this admin dislikes, leaving room for weaponization by any future admin. All nonprofits should be worried, read below for details and how to take action: 🧵⬇️

I would like to live in a world where I do not seriously consider setting this up as a recurring auto-post every 5 days.

Incendiary rhetoric is dangerous and media needs to cover it with care and context.

protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...

A line chart with a blue line showing a large growth of protest events from Jan 20 - May 31, 2025, and a green line showing the relatively modest growth of protest events during the same period in 2017.

My team and I at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman@bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) have a new piece out: wagingnonviolence.org/2025/06/amer.... In it, we show that through May 2025, the size and scale of anti-Trump protests have dwarfed those in 2017. 🧵

NEW: Are you getting accurate information? With protests unfolding across the country, and more expected this weekend, we put together a guide to help you spot responsible reporting that prioritizes accuracy and context: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/are-report...

Universities can, should, and must stand up for themselves and their missions. Read more👇

The project "How to Make the Case for Democracy" has been funded by @dfg.de! 🎉
This grant supports two positions for exploring innovative strategies to bolster citizen support for democracy in established democracies. (1/6)

Opinion | How to Fix America’s Two-Party Problem Proportional representation could help restore American democracy.

Not sure what PR looks like? Revisit this great explainer for the basics:

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Quick reminder - the US electoral system unfairly disadvantages new parties.

But if we had proportional representation, new parties like the PANICANs actually could form & appeal to voters who don’t like the idea of risking crashing the economy as part of some quixotic quest.

U.S. democracy is under attack. Here are some lessons for democracy’s defenders. A global study of democratic backsliding and resilience offers ways to resist authoritarian attacks.

New op-ed out @goodauth.bsky.social based on our global research w Ken Roberts, @muratsomer-eng.bsky.social @jennifermccoy.bsky.social
Timely lessons re pressure on institutions and nature of pro-democracy coalitions

goodauthority.org/news/us-demo...

Strategic Fusion and the GOP Whether it's foreign-policy hawks on the right, cultural conservatives on the left, or fiscal conservatives anywhere, the reductive binary of today's electoral options can be deeply frustrating for…

History holds lessons for today’s political disruptions. The 19th century anti-slavery movement built power by strategically fusing w/major parties. What if disaffected conservative voters could do the same today? Read @jrdresden.bsky.social & Beau Tremitiere:

Opinion | How to Fix America’s Two-Party Problem Proportional representation could help restore American democracy.

Fantastic piece on how proportional representation could improve our politics and better represent the American people. If you're not already familiar with PR and its potential benefits (more party choices, better problem solving, less gerrymandering...) start here!
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Where will they all sit? An interactive vision for an expanded, modernized House of Representatives

The House hasn’t grown since 1910, but our population has nearly tripled. Expanding the House is critical to building a more responsive government — and we’ve mapped out how it can be done with modern infrastructure. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/where-will...

Ok here’s the State Democracy Index 2.0! Please enjoy

democracypolicylab.berkeley.edu/state-democr...

And it's not just partisanship... e.g., it seems Republican members who voted to certify didn't see nearly as substantial effects on their ability to work across the aisle.

It can be easy to forget that members of Congress actually have a job to do: legislate.

But one new study found House members who voted against certification on Jan. 6 later saw drops in multiple measures of their legislative effectiveness. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

If we planned Thanksgiving like we elect Congress, we’d only end up with turkey and stuffing. According to our poll with Citizen Data, Americans are hungry for reform and there are other ways to plan the menu. More on support for proportional representation ⬇️
protectdemocracy.org/work/how-ope...

I created a starter pack of phenomenal scholars who are also super kind people. Necessarily incomplete—
Please nominate someone for me to add!

go.bsky.app/Hv3iMGV

It’s Not Just Trump: Americans of Both Parties Support Liberal Democratic Norm Violations More Under Their Own President Abstract. There is a growing worry about the health of American democracy, and political scientists and pundits alike are looking for possible explanations

There's a tendency in public opinion for more folks to support anti-democratic moves when their preferred party's in power.

For a data-driven way to ruin Thanksgiving, share this finding and ask your loved ones where they'd draw the line. (j/k, please don't.)

academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...

There are two kinds of hot takes: the kind nuked in a microwave for 90 seconds and the kind ladled out of a soup pot of expertise that’s been gently simmering on the stove waiting for its moment. If the latter sounds better to you, follow outlets like @goodauth.bsky.social

Hello! I thought a list of women scholars in conflict and security studies could be helpful! Let me know if you want to be added/removed! go.bsky.app/Np3NivX

Hi everyone!

Going forward I’ll mostly use this space to highlight research and analysis that non-academics should probably know about - the state of democracy, lessons from global peacebuilding, etc.

For academics who want to know what practitioners are writing, I’ll try to share on that too!

The Violence and Democracy Impact Tracker (VDIT)—which we we built alongside the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins—reveals that 51% of experts assess the impact of political violence on elections as indicating significant erosion.

Political Violence & US Democracy The Violence and Democracy Impact Tracker calculates the impact of political violence on eight distinct pillars of democracy in the United States.

As we ramp up to the ‘24 election, it’s critical to mitigate any threats political violence poses to the electoral process. The latest data from The Violence and Democracy Impact Tracker calculates the systemic risk political violence poses to our democracy: protectdemocracy.org/political-vi...