Posted by Bridge Alliance on August 29, 2018
Under the U.S. Constitution, the States control the “Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives” for Congress. This can make voting difficult for U.S. citizens, as each State has its own set of rules and those rules can vary greatly. In Pennsylvania, for instance, you can only vote by mail if you are unable to go to the polls on election day. In Oregon, on the other hand, you can only vote by mail -- full stop. There are no polling locations.
To make things easier, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge has launched ALLINToVote.org in collaboration with fellow Alliance members Democracy Works, Campus Vote Project, and BallotReady. ALL IN to Vote was built with college students in mind, but can be used by anybody who is eligible to vote.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on August 22, 2018
The Bridge Alliance was started with a simple question, “What can we do better together, that none of us can do alone?” Since then, the goal of the Bridge Alliance has been to bring together the leaders of the American revitalization movement. It’s now one step closer to its goal with the additions of One America Movement, Business for America, and The Center for Election Science.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on August 15, 2018
This fall Bridge Alliance member organization The Village Square is launching a new project on campuses across the country called Respect + Rebellion. The programs will feature pairs of speakers with divergent viewpoints who still maintain a respectful personal or professional relationship -- a contrast to the predictable "controversial speaker, protest, repeat" formula used by many campuses.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on August 08, 2018
Yesterday, Bridge Alliance and Big Tent Nation, in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), announced 23 outstanding finalists for the 2018 Civvy Awards, which you can view at www.civvys.org. This group of inspiring organizations and individuals are using collaborative action to move our country forward in civic and political life.
Finalists have been announced in 4 categories, highlighting projects with national, local, youth-focused and political impact. Civvys Awards winners and finalists will be celebrated in a ceremony during the NCoC’s 2018 Annual Conference on Citizenship: It’s Your Democracy in Washington, D.C. on October 17th and 18th.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on August 02, 2018
The Open Mind is the longest-running nationally broadcast public affairs interview program in the USA. It first aired in 1956 and since then has hosted interviews with some of the greatest minds in our nation’s history, including Martin Luther King, Jr., William F. Buckley, and Elie Wiesel -- just to name a few.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on July 25, 2018
There are two organizations within the Bridge Alliance’s family. One is the Bridge Alliance, and the other is its sister organization -- the Bridge Alliance Education Fund (or BAEF for short). The BAEF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to informing the public of the latest happenings in the democracy revitalization movement -- i.e. the efforts of Bridge Alliance members to promote civic engagement; good governance; and better electoral processes.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on July 18, 2018
A few weeks ago (June 21-23) the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life (one of the Bridge Alliance’s strategic partners) hosted its annual Frontiers of Democracy Conference. The purpose of the conference is to bring together scholars, activists, journalists, government workers, etc. to reverse the decline of democracy, which -- according to Freedom House -- has been in a worldwide retreat for over a decade now.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on July 11, 2018
As we approach the midterm elections, it is easy to get caught up in the raw partisanship that has engulfed D.C. We start seeing individual contests as a race between a vote for your party’s agenda and a vote against your party’s agenda. Members of Congress, however, have a myriad of important duties beyond just casting a vote -- they are OUR representatives.
The Democracy Awards, presented by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) and the Bridge Alliance as a founding partner, celebrate Members who excel at these less visible -- but absolutely vital -- duties of office. While these individuals may be best known for their vote on Legislation X or Nominee Y, we believe they deserve praise for the work described below:
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on July 05, 2018
It is safe to say that the political climate in America is toxic. If you’re a politician, it’s dangerous to speak positively about a colleague from the other side of the aisle, let alone work with them. If you’re a member of the media, large segments of the population don’t trust you. And if you’re a citizen, you’re wondering if there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
Fortunately, there are many people and organizations dedicated to getting the country back on track. These are the unsung heroes of this generation, and we want to make they get credit! If you know somebody who is doing incredible work in bringing people together, nominate them for a Civvy! We want to recognize them and give them a platform.
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Posted by Bridge Alliance on June 27, 2018
Member organization iCivics is running a campaign called “Democracy At Play,” which is designed to encourage conversations about civics and politics between parents and their kids in a fun, informative, and engaging way. Materials, activities, and games are available in both English and Spanish.
You can take the Democracy At Play civic challenge by clicking here here, and you can read more about it on Romper.com. iCivics hopes you will share your family's experience or join the discussion on social media using #DemocracyAtPlay.
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