Making The Case for "Universal Voting" and Voter Access

Miles Rapoport, a former Secretary of the State and co-author of 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting, will lead a discussion on democracy and election reforms on Monday, April 20th, at New Britain City Hall’s Community Room, 27 West Main Street.

The League of Women Voters, New Britain Area, will host the free, public forum from 6 to 7:30 p.m. as part of the local League's voter education program. Free parking is available in the municipal parking garage attached to City Hall.

Rapoport and Journalist E.J. Dionne wrote 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting in 2022. Citing extensive research, surveys, and voting systems in Australia and other democracies, the book favors "civic duty" voting that would make voting a requirement of citizenship, much like jury duty in the courts.

Publication of the book led to the formation of the 100% Democracy Initiative, which is "dedicated to the proposition that a representative democracy is only truly representative when everyone participates. Our goal is to reimagine voting as both a fundamental right and a civic responsibility, with every eligible citizen required to participate in this most fundamental act of self-governance." Rapoport has been joined at 100% Democracy by Evelyn Mantilla, a former Hartford state representative, who is CT organizing director for the initiative, and Marc Kaplan, a member of the organization's Board of Directors and longtime citizen action organizer. Mantilla and Kaplan will participate in the New Britain forum.

In addition to universal voting, the 100% Democracy Initiative advocates for "gateway reforms" such as early voting, which Connecticut introduced in 2024, and no-excuse absentee voting, which has required a change to Connecticut's state constitution. To counter restrictive voting laws, 100% Democracy is urging adequate funding for election administration and safeguards against "overly aggressive" purging, which has been used to exclude citizens in some jurisdictions when they show up at the polls.

Rapoport, who served five terms as a state representative from West Hartford, served as Secretary of the State from 1995 to 1998, during which he pushed legislation and initiatives to expand voting access. He was a Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center of the Harvard Kennedy School from 2017-2022 and served as president of Common Cause and Demos, national organizations that seek campaign finance reforms and the strengthening of voter rights.

Evelyn Mantilla, a leader in the Puerto Rican community who served in the CT General Assembly from 1997 to 2007, representing Hartford's 4th District, was the first Hispanic woman to serve as Deputy Majority Leader in the CT legislature. She has been a lifelong advocate for civic participation and equity for underrepresented voices and serves as Principal of Mantilla Leadership Solutions.

Marc Caplan, a longtime organizer for citizen action, has led issues-based and coalition-building organizations in Connecticut and New England and has been a senior program officer at the Proteus and Piper Funds, addressing the excessive corporate and special interest influence on our political system. He presently consults for the Working Families Party in New Jersey.

For more information on the 100% Democracy forum on April 20th, contact Ward 4 Alderman John McNamara at 860-416-0665; johnhmcnamara [at] gmail.com.