Internship Wrap-Up

This Friday will be my last day of work... where did the summer go?!

I learned a great deal this summer, primarily about Common Cause’s policy areas. I am now even more convinced (if such a thing is possible) of the need for campaign finance reform and better access to voting in elections. Beyond that, I am now aware of the need to make sure that votes translate into policy that is in the public interest. These were notions with which I already agreed, but previously, they were only notions. When you research something, you naturally become invested in it, and I am now deeply invested in promoting accountable government.

In researching these (sometimes novel) topics, I had the chance to hone my writing skills, especially blog-writing. While I consider myself a fairly good writer, I know that practice is necessary to maintain prowess, and I appreciate the opportunity that this internship gave me to do that. Working out the kinks in a new job is also a learning experience, no matter what the job entails. Finding out how to work with a new group of people, navigate a new chain of command, and sometimes think in a new way can be challenging, and practicing this type of situation really helps me do it better the next time. In these ways, the internship was very helpful.

I do not doubt that this internship will affect my future career plans. Previously, I had never considered running for office someday, but now that I have seen the crucial difference legislators can make in securing better government for all of us, I am much more likely to explore that option. This is a possibility for me especially if a good publicly funded elections program can be instated; I am not made to pander to big donors. Even if I end up with a career less directly related to Common Cause, the general skills that I used this summer will definitely come in handy in any field.

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I speak as an individual, NOT on behalf of Common Cause Hawaii. All opinions are my own.

Helping Citizens Access Democracy

Last Saturday, I spent 15 hours in the Waialua Elementary School cafeteria, helping my fellow citizens exercise their civil rights. Despite the excessively long day, I felt really great about contributing to the community in that way, and I’d highly recommend the experience to anyone with a reasonable amount of stamina.

In providing quality customer service to voters, I felt like I was selling them on the democratic process. When people have a pleasant voting experience, when they can understand the rules of a single-party primary, they are much more likely to come back the next year and vote again. On the other hand, if they feel ignorant or belittled, they will not come back. It’s easy to get confused while voting in the primary; lots of people don’t know that they can only select candidates from one party. Precinct officials who are polite and informative are a huge help.

One problem we encountered over and over throughout the day was confusion as to which polling place voters were supposed to attend. The Waialua/Haleiwa area had been redistricted since the previous election, and a significant number of people who live in Waialua were assigned to the Haleiwa Elementary polling place. Understandably, they came to Waialua instead. It was really inconvenient for them to drive somewhere else to cast their vote, and for some (think old ladies who rode the bus to vote), it was near impossible. This could have been avoided by better publicizing the redistricting; ads in the newspaper and on the radio would have been low-cost ways to improve public awareness, and allow more people to vote.

I learned a lot on Saturday, and took pride in being so intimately involved in the political process. The difference you can make is direct and immediate, while taking just one day. This is rare, and anyone with the ability to take advantage of it should do so!

Disclaimer: I speak as an individual, NOT on behalf of Common Cause Hawaii. All opinions are my own.

A Letter to My Representative

August 8, 2012

Gil Riviere

Hawaii State Capitol, Room 319

Honolulu, HI, 96813

(808) 586-6380

Dear Representative Riviere,

I am a college student and lifelong resident of Waialua. I appreciate what you have done for our district thus far. I am writing to urge you to take action on establishing Election Day voter registration for the people of Hawaii.

I do not doubt that you have read about the miserable voter turnout statistics we hold here. The opportunity to register to vote on Election Day would be a great step toward increasing that turnout. As it stands, voters must register at least 30 days before an election in order to participate, but an increase in campaigning in that month directly preceding the election means that many become interested in the issues when they are no longer eligible to have a say in them. With Election Day registration, those voters would be included in the political process.

Journalist Ian Lind recently wrote an article for Honolulu Civil Beat in which he said, “A 2011 study by Demos, a New York-based policy research and advocacy group, estimated overall voter turnout in Hawaii would be boosted by 5.3 percent, while some segments of the population would benefit even more.” A 5.3% increase would be great progress for our state.

Election Day voter registration has been successful in other states. Eight states have a form of the program, and have seen increases in voter turnout as a result. Hawaii should be next.

Again, I am very happy with you as my Representative. Thank you for your service!

Sincerely,

Holly Berlin

Disclaimer: I speak as an individual, NOT on behalf of Common Cause Hawaii. All opinions are my own.

How We Choose What to Hear: Sources of News in the Digital Age

It seems an intuitive notion that more people are getting more of their news from the Internet. After all, many of us are on our computers consistently throughout the day, and without seeing any kind of data, we might be able to guess that this would lead to an increase in use of the Internet as a source of news. Now there are numbers to back up that assumption. A 2011 Pew Research poll reported that 41% of Americans now say they get most of their news online, and that figure rises to 65% among those 18-29 years old. We now have statistical evidence that supports our guess as to where Americans get their information, but what does this mean for democracy?

One important effect this has is that it lets us, to a certain extent, choose what news we do and do not want to hear. With the huge variety of sources found online, ranging from extremely liberal to very conservative, it is much easier to find a tone with which you already agree, creating the illusion that your point of view is the correct one. This can be detrimental to the democratic process of debate and dialogue in that it may stifle the perception of political contention. Services like Google News tend to facilitate this; Google records what articles you read and uses that information to guess what else you might be interested in. (They refer to this process as “personalization” of your news page.)

Fortunately, there is a solution. If we aware of the ways in which we tend to pick and choose our news from the Internet, we can consciously access a variety of different sources, thereby hearing views both similar and dissimilar to our own. Many of us already do this, and that is commendable, but the opposite habit is strikingly easy to fall into. While the Internet has done wonders for increasing our ease of communication and dissemination of news, it is important to acknowledge its potential for bias, and do our best to combat it while preserving the dialogue crucial to democracy.

Disclaimer: I speak as an individual, NOT on behalf of Common Cause Hawaii. All opinions are my own.