Democracy is governance by the people, and like any enterprise, it depends on the participation of all parties. Yet, as we celebrate our nation’s founding this week, primary elections continue to see very few voters and most elective offices are going uncontested. As we prepare for the November elections, here are two resources to help remind people that voting is part of what sustains our democracy.  

Majority Rules: New Film Documents the Success of Ranked Choice Voting

Teree Caldwell Johnson Honored as All-America Leader

It's Time to Make America's Urban Political Systems Far More Democratic

Filmmaker AJ Schnack (director of Caucus and Convention) has released a documentary called Majority Rules that provides an entertaining introduction to the potent combination of election changes rolled out in Alaska in 2022. Premiered at a documentary film festival in June, Majority Rules is available in theatres and for streaming in the fall. Read more.

The National Civic League was both proud and saddened to recognize Teree Caldwell Johnson as the recipient of this year’s All-America Leader Award posthumously.

Teree’s husband, Vernon, and children, Baley and Baxtyr, joined virtually at the 75th annual All-America City Award to accept the award on her behalf. Watch here.

If American cities were divided into small electoral districts based on existing neighborhoods, then city governments would be truly representative. A city’s various communities would be represented in government proportionally. This article, by Stephen Erickson, is part of the Spring edition of the National Civic Review, which is now open access. Read more.

2024 All-America City Award Presentations

Tulsa Mayor Leaves Legacy of Civic Engagement  

Mapping America's Healthy Democracy Ecosystem

The recipients of this year’s All-America City Award assembled teams of residents, nonprofits, businesses, government leaders, and young people and presented the story of their work to a jury of nationally recognized civic leaders. The presentations featured skits, music, spoken word, dance, and compelling personal stories. The democracy-strengthening initiatives showcased addressed a broad spectrum of critical issues, such as reforming voting systems, enhancing civic education, and engaging residents in tackling mental health challenges, gun violence, racism, and economic development. Read more.

As the mayor of Oklahoma’s second largest city, G.T. Bynum has focused much of his attention on engaging the community in civic affairs and improving opportunities for all residents. Mayor Bynum, who is Vice Chair of the League’s Board of Directors, will leave office in December with a long list of accomplishments in his hometown. 

As highlighted in a recent article from Bloomberg Cities Network, Mayor Bynum initiated a program to encourage neighborhood conversations on equity, in which over 80 community members have been trained to host Equity Dialogues. Read more.

The League is getting close to the public launch of Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map, and we would like your help in ensuring that our data is as complete and accurate as possible!

Please help us make sure that your democracy-strengthening organization, and others you work with or support, are all on the Map.

The Map will provide the first comprehensive look at the universe of organizations promoting healthy democracy in America. The dataset includes groups working on a wide range of priorities.

Read more on how you can help us here.