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The Yankelovich Center

Social Science,
for the Social Good

The Yankelovich Center is dedicated to connecting UC San Diego with the community to craft practical solutions to our nation’s most pressing social problems.

We support research partnerships and activities that spur public engagement and civic improvements – including addressing racial and ethnic inequities in society and in our democracy.

Addressing inequities in order to strengthen American democracy is a key mission of the Yankelovich Center.

The Race and Local Democracy Research-Practice Partnership

Center co-director Zoltan Hajnal is working with More Equitable Democracy, a racial justice organization, to identify reforms designed to help local governments confront racial and ethnic inequities and broaden participation in democracy.

The partnership plans to develop a model charter that city and county governments can use to guide these efforts.

Hajnal and other experts consider local governments a good proving ground for democracy-building reforms – and note that they tend to be more open to improvements.

The partnership partly grew out of a 2015 California law that required cities to hold their municipal elections on the same day as state or national races – a move that has significantly increased turnout and expanded the range of people who cast ballots.

Hajnal has been making the case for holding local elections in tandem with state and federal ballots since this 2002 co-authored report.

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