Workshop Session One, 10 a.m. – 11:15 am

ROOM 146 A:  Debate: Is It Time for Multi-Party Democracy?
            Ralph Nader and Theresa Amato of CitizenWorks debate John White (Catholic University) and Robert Borosage (Campaign for America's Future).
                                                                                                                       

ROOM 149 A:  National Initiative for Democracy

Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) explains the Democracy Foundation’s project to establish a national initiative through the Philadelphia II project.

ROOM 149 B:  Getting and Securing Polling Places on College Campuses
United States Student Association (USSA)           

This workshop conducted by the USSA’s Portia Pedro will look at tactics and strategies that college groups can use to secure accessible places to exercise their vote.

ROOM 154 A:  Using the Help America Vote Act to Promote Voting
Demos

Demos’ Steven Carbo moderates a session in which Marisa Demeo (MALDEF), Rachel Leon (NY Common Cause), Atiya Dangleben (BostonVote), Jim Dickson (American Association of People with Disabilities) and Joyce Hamilton (Democracy Works) address the many ways in which HAVA can be implemented to further a number of pro-democracy issues.

ROOM 154 B:  Attacking the Gerrymander: Prospects and Tactics

Common Causee

Jon Goldin-Dubois (Common Cause), Jeff Wice (attorney), Michael McDonald (George Mason University) and Doug Kantor (DKT Liberty Project) detail legal and political strategies to reform current redistricting practices that contribute to distorted election results and non-competitive elections

ROOM 155:  Fulfilling the Promise of Democracy: Ending the Disenfranchisement of the People of Washington DC [Repeated in Session Four]

DC Vote

             D.C. Vote’s Ilir Zherka and Kevin Kiger present current and historical information about the movement to bring full congressional voting representation to Washington DC and provide information about how individuals and organizations can help finish "the leftover business of the Civil Rights Movement."

ROOM 156:  Elected Officials on Advancing Reform in Legislatures
            State legislators Garnet Coleman (TX) and Beth Edmonds (ME) – both honored this year as Heroes of Democracy by the Center for Voting and Democracy and Common Cause – discuss strategies for advancing reform in legislatures. Moderated by Tom Perez, Montgomery County (MD) Commissioner.             

ROOM 157:  The Quiet Revolution: Section 2 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act

Anita Earls (University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights), Chandler Davidson (Rice University) and Alex Willingham (Williams College) – all three among the nation’s leading authorities on the Voting Rights Act– explain what Section 2 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act have meant for representation of people of color and the future of these provisions.

ROOM 158 A:  The Case for Contribution Limits and Creating Incentives for Small Contributions

U.S. PIRG

            U.S. PIRG’s democracy advocate Adam Lioz makes the case for setting lower limits for what donors can give political campaigns and explains incentives such as tax credits for generating more small contributions.

ROOM 158 B:  Building an Effective Reform Movement in Miami-Dade (FL)
Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition
             Bobbie Ann Brinegar, Lida Rodriguez-Taseff and Bess McElroy of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition explain how a volunteer-run coalition manages to bring together and keep the interest of local activists through identifying issues that resonate with local communities.

ROOM 159 A:  Making and Using Pro-Democracy Films and Documentaries

Filmakers Joan Sekler, Matt Kohn, Aviva Kempner, Fred Silverman Jose Vanegas and Laura Harrison explain the making of their pro-democracy works and their potential value as a tool for organizers.

ROOM 160:  The Fannie Lou Hamer Standard: Campaign Finance as a Civil Rights Issue
Fannie Lou Hamer Project
             The Fannie Lou Hamer Project’s director Stephanie Moore explains its work about how public financing of elections is a civil rights issue in a short version of one of its ‘Hamer’s Trainers’ sessions.

Workshop Session Two, 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m

ROOM 146 A:  Debate: Should Touchscreen Voting Machines Require a Paper Trail?

Barbara Simons (Co-Chair, US Public Policy Committee of ACM), Martha Mahoney (University Miami School of Law) and Marc Rotenberg (Electronic Privacy Information Center) debate Jim Dickson (American Association of People with Disabilities) and Ted Selker (M.I.T.). Moderated by Marc Steiner of Baltimore Public Radio Station WYPR.

Room 149 A:  Creating Real Debates: The New Campaign to Build Substantive, Non-partisan and More Inclusive Presidential Debates

Open Debates / ReclaimDemocracy.org
            George Farah and Chris Shaw of Open Debates and Jeff Milchen of ReclaimDemocray.org explain efforts to reform presidential debates to be more inclusive and substantive.

ROOM 149 B:  Expanding the Vote: Non-Citizens and Citizens of American Territories

Appleseed Electoral Reform Project
           Ron Hayduk (CUNY), Jamin Raskin (Washington College of Law), Mario Cristaldo (D.C. Voting Rights for All Coalition), Tom Perez (Montgomery County Council), Bryan Pu-Folks (NICE, the New Immigrant Community Empowerment), Michele Wucker (World Policy Institute), Kathy Coll (Campaign for Immigrant Voting Rights in Massachusetts), Gouri Sadhwani (New York Civic Participation Project) and Joyce Hamilton (DemocracyWorks) present. They will make the case for expanding the franchise and a report on efforts to strategize, network and organize on its behalf. Includes discussion of the Takoma Park experience with non-citizen voting, an international perspective and movements in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts

ROOM 154 A:  Voting Rights for All: Citizens with Felony Convictions

Demos
            Ludovic Blain of Demos will moderate a panel with Kele Williams (Brennan Center for Justice), Marisa Demeo  (MALDEF), Joseph Hayden (NY Right to Vote Campaign), Courtney Strickland (ACLU Florida) and Americo Santiago (Democracy Works). Panelists will explore strategies to expand eligibility to include those citizens with felony convictions, and ensuring that those citizens who are eligible are informed of their voting rights by government and service institutions and encouraged to vote.

ROOM 154 B:  Instant Runoff Voting and Full Representation: Making the A, B, C’s for Fair Elections as Easy as 1, 2, 3

Center for Voting and Democracy
            David Cobb (ReclaimDemocracy.org), Dan Johnson-Weinberger (Midwest Democracy Center) and Paula Lee (Californians for Electoral Reform) explain how instant runoff voting works for electing single-winner offices like president and governor and full representation for electing legislators. Their presentation shows also shows just how powerful these reforms can be to open up electoral campaigns and representative institutions to new voices.

ROOM 155:  Campaigns and the Media: Our Democracy, Our Airwaves Campaign

Alliance for Better Campaigns
          The Alliance for Better Campaigns’ Meredith McGehee shows how the Our Democracy, Our Airwaves Campaign works to ensure that broadcasters provide citizens with the information they need to be informed, engaged voters. Learn more about this effort to promote a stronger public interest standard.

ROOM 156:  Winning and Losing: Democracy Reform at the Ballot Box

Ballot Initiative Strategies Center
               Kristina Wilfore (BISC), Caleb Kleppner (Center for Voting and Demoracy), Brad Bannon (Bannon Communications), Lisa Clauson (Massachusetts ACORN) and Jon Goldin-Dubois (Common Cause) pursue a discussion about democracy reforms at the ballot box and lessons from recent successes and failures. Kleppner will focus on instant runoff voting campaigns, Bannon on framing and strategic communication on democracy issues, Clauson on a developing campaign for fusion and Goldin-Dubois on campaign finance initiatives.

ROOM 157:  Building a Populist Reform Movement [repeated in session 4]

Derek Cressman (TheRestofUs.org and long-time PIRG democracy leader) details the goals of his new organization.

ROOM 158 A:  Mining Campaign Finance Data: How Following the Money Can Enhance Your Project

The Center for Responsive Politics’ Sheila Krumholz and Sheryl Fred  and the Institute on Money and State Politics’ Edwin Bender show how public interest organizations on a national and state level can access and utilize campaign finance data for the public interest.

ROOM 158 B:  Presidential Elections: Electoral College, Fair Nomination Rules and Vote-Trading

Jack Nagel (University of Pennsylvania), Steve Cobble (Institute for Policy Studies) and David Horn (Center for Research into Governmental Processes) discuss the future of the Electoral College, the proposed tactic of “vote-trading” to take advantage of the quirks of the Electoral College and the potential merits of lowering threshold of support necessary to win delegates in presidential primaries and caucuses.

ROOM 159 A:  Does Democracy Matter?

Democracy Matters

Democracy Matters’ Jen Bonardi focuses on the relationship between money and politics while introducing the movement for campaign finance reform among young adults and the wider community.

ROOM 159 B:  Fusion: Its Practice in New York and Adoption

ACORN 
            Josh Mason of New York’s Working Familes Party makes the case for fusion (cross-nomination of one candidate by more than one party) as a means for minor parties to have influence, with a particular focus on its use in New York State and prospective adoption in other states.

ROOM 160:  Stand up for Democracy in Washington D.C.

Stand up for Democracy and Stamp Act Congress lead a workshop on creative actions underway to pressure lawmakers to allow full representation and democracy in Washington, D.C.

Workshop Session Three 1:45 p.m. –3:00 pm

ROOM 146 A:  Debate: “Direct Democracy in California: Success or Failure?"

Paul Jacob (Citizens in Charge) and Dane Waters (Initiative and Referendum Institute) debate Roy Ulrich (California Common Cause) and Craig Holman (Public Citizen) about California’s recall and the state's initiative process. 

ROOM 149 A:  Voter-Verifiable Elections: How Do We Get There?

David Chaum (SureVote), Barbara Simons (USACM), Avi Rubin (Johns Hopkins), Marc Rotenberg (EPIC), Kim Lawson-Jenkins and Lynn Landes discuss electronic voting equipment and methods of addressing security concerns involving lack of a paper trail in current equipment.

ROOM 149 B:  Who Balances the Scales of Justice in Your State

League of Women Voters
          Nancy Connors of the League of Women Voters leads a discussion of the recent focus of both campaign donors and election reformers on state judicial elections and methods for selection. State courts are both critical building blocks of our judicial system and influences federal court appointees.

ROOM 154 A:  Election Day Registration: Expanding Democracy.

Demos
           Steven Carbo (Demos) moderates a panel with Atiya Dangleben (BostonVOTE), Tara Purohit (Insitute for Southern Studies), Jim Dickson (American Association of People with Disabilities) and Americo Santiago (Democracy Works) with information on: the current practice of Election Day Registration in several states; lessons learned from successful legislative campaigns; and the linkage between Election Day Registration and the state implementation of the federal Help America Vote Act.

ROOM 154 B:  Campaigns for Full Representation: Advances in Canada, United Kingdom, San Francisco and New Zealand

Center for Voting and Democracy
           Larry Gordon (Fair Vote Canada), Jack Nagel (University of Pennsylvania), Steven Hill (Center for Voting and Democracy), Lynne Serpe (New Zealand Electoral Reform Coalition) and Ken Ritchie (British Electoral Reform Society) with lessons on how: New Zealand adopted mixed member proportional representation for national elections in 1993 and choice voting for several cities in 2002-2003; San Francisco passed instant runoff voting for its major elections in 2002; and Canada and the United Kingdom are making remarkable advances at both the national and provincial level.

Room 155:  Public Financing: The Best Solution to a Broken Government

Public Campaign / Democracy Matters

MaryMcClelland (Public Campaign), Jen Bonardi (Democracy Matters), Doug Clopp (Maine Citizen Leadership Fund), John Rauh (Americans for Campaign Reform) and Maine state senator Beth Edmonds on full public financing: What it is, its history, how it has been implemented and strategies to expand its use.

ROOM 156:  A Right to Vote Amendment in the U.S. Constitution

Appleseed Electoral Reform Project

Jamin Raskin (Washington College of Law) and Alex Keyssar (Harvard University) make the case for adding an affirmative right to vote to the U.S. Constitution, thereby expanding and protecting the franchise and laying a legal and political groundwork for pro-democracy reforms.

ROOM 157:  Election Protection: Protecting Voting Rights at the Polls

Advancement Project / People for the American Way
            Edward Hailes (Advancement Project) and Vicky Beasley (People for the American Way) explainefforts to combat political maneuvers to keep voters from the polls.

ROOM 158 A:  Strategies to Build a Reform Movement: Connecting Election Reform with Fair Access to Copyrighted Music

Clark Cohen of P2P for America discusses harnessing peer-to-peer interaction over the Internet to drive towards full representation and resolve the digital downloading dilemma.

ROOM 158 B:  Getting the Grassroots Mobilized Behind a Pro-Democracy Agenda

Independent Progressive Politics Network (IPPN)
            IPPN’s George Friday and Ted Glick address issues involved with inspiring and keeping grassroots people involved in work around democracy issues.

ROOM 159 A:  How Corporate Power is Undermining Democracy and How We Can Change It… Permanently.

Citizen Works / ReclaimDemocracy.Org
            Lee Drutman (Citizen Works) and Jeff Milchen (ReclaimDemocracy.Org) detail how corporate power has imperiled the promise of citizen-powered democray and the systemic changes needed to restore it that promise.

ROOM 159 B:  Mobilizing Voters in 2004: Lifting Every Voice

Glenda Marsh (National Voice) introduces participants to the National Voice Coalition and its creative approaches for maximizing citizen participation that are being used by a variety of non-profits across the country. Josuha Grossman (www.voterpunch.org) explains Voter Punch and innovative new web tools that help users hold their elected officials accountable.

ROOM 160:  Democracy in the Workplace

Jonathan Tasini (American Rights at Work) focuses on the connections between voting rights and the rights of workers to campaign for union representation.

Workshop Session Four: 3:15 p.m. –4:30 pm

ROOM 146 A:  Taking the Initiative: How to Use the Process

Paul Jacob (Citizens in Charge) and M. Dane Waters (Initiative and Referendum Institute) on efforts to expand use of initiative and referendum.

ROOM 149 A:  Enhancing Voting Rights through New Voting Equipment

American Association of People with Disabilities

Jim Dickson (American Association of People with Disabilities) and Ted Selker (MIT) detail problems with voting rights and ballot security with traditional paper-based voting equipment.

ROOM 149 B:  Beyond the Data: Reporting Tips for Reformers

Leah Rush and Alex Knott of the Center for Public Integrity, one of the nation’s leading watchdog organizations, provide ideas and resources for connecting the state and federal resarch dots, from campaign finance to outside interests to lobbying.

Broom 154 A:  Building a Populist Reform Movement

Derek Cressman (TheRestofUs.org and long-time PIRG democracy leader) details the goals of his new organization.

ROOM 154 B:  Pursuing Fair Elections in States

Center for Voting and Democracy
             The Center’s national field director Rashad Robinson moderates a panel with Steve Chessin (Californians for Electoral Reform), Dave Robinson (California IRV), Dan Johnson-Weinberger (Midwest  Democracy Center) and Peter Vickery (Fair Vote Massachusetts). They discuss models for making progress in states, from efforts to advancing instant runoff voting and full representation in colleges to cities and states.

ROOM 155:  Fulfilling the Promise of Democracy: Ending the Disenfranchisement of the People of Washington DC

DC Vote
            Ilir Zherka and Kevin Kiger of D.C. Vote present current and historical information about the movement to bring full congressional voting representation to Washington DC, while also providing information about how individuals and organizations can help finish “the leftover business of the Civil Rights Movement.”

Broom 157:  Ballot Access for Candidates: Status of Federal and State Laws

Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News and the nation’s foremost authority on ballot access reviews federal and state laws and recent and prospective changes.

ROOM 158 A:  Low Contribution Limits: A Popular Solution to the Right Problem

US PIRG

PIRG’s democracy advocate Adam Lioz lays out the problem of money-in-politics in terms of political inequality and presents low contribution limits as a viable and popular solution that is compelling for traditional reformers, civil rights advocates and public financing champions.

ROOM 158 B:  Fixing Elections: How Winner-Take-All Elections are Fundamentally Broken
Center for Voting and Democracy
            Based on his highly-praised 2002 book, Steven Hill makes the case for why winner-take-all elections must be replaced to address the major ills of our current politics. Jurij Toplak (University of Maribor School of Law) provides a European perspective on Hill’s thesis.

ROOM 159 A:  Running More Women For Office

National Organization for Women (NOW)

NOW’s Linda Berg discusses tactics to encourage more women to run – and win – for local, state and congressional elections, focusing in particular on a major drive planned for later in the decade.

ROOM 160:  Lowering the Voting Age and Youth Political Activism

Democracy Action Project
           Democracy Action Project’s Malia Lazu introduces and moderates a panel about lowering the voting age and youth political activism.  The panel includes Atiya Dangleben (BostonVote), Joy Williams (New York City Council), Carolyn Darrow (Youth Vote Coalition) and Alex Koroknay-Palicz (Youth Rights).