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The Case For Cancelling Student Debt

Today, more than 44 million Americans hold a total of about $1.6 trillion in student debt, creating significant financial hardship that had reached crisis proportions even before the pandemic triggered massive job losses. 

Marshall Steinbaum Jan 14, 2021

How Joe Biden Can Fix The Broken Clemency Process

There is also a growing bipartisan consensus that we send too many people to prison for too long, and clemency is one tool that can be used to limit the carceral state. Unfortunately, the process by which clemency petitions are evaluated is fundamentally broken.

Shon Hopwood Jan 11, 2021

Voters Continue to Support Protection for Unhoused People

Executive Summary Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, unhoused people, uniquely vulnerable to the spread of disease, have borne the brunt of government inaction. Yet in some places where the government has taken action it came in the form of crackdowns and new ordinances that criminalize the status of living without a home—actions that contradict CDC […]

Sean McElwee, Bilal Baydoun Dec 09, 2020

From Voting Rights to Clean Energy, Georgia Voters Favor Democratic Policy Priorities in Senate Runoff

Executive Summary With control of the United States Senate hanging in the balance, new polling from Data for Progress and The Justice Collaborative Institute shows that a bipartisan majority of Georgia voters are more likely to support Senate candidates who embrace Democratic policy priorities on a broad range of issues, including health care, clean energy, […]

Sean McElwee, Dawn Milam Dec 08, 2020

Georgia Voters Overwhelmingly Support Direct Stimulus Payments

Executive Summary A new poll from Data For Progress and The Justice Collaborative Institute shows that 87% of Georgia voters—including 84% of Republicans—support a direct federal stimulus payment to most Americans. For Peach State voters, direct financial payment should not be a matter of debate or compromise, and is instead an essential intervention in this time […]

Sean McElwee, Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza Dec 08, 2020

Harm Reduction Practice and Innovation in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in San Francisco

Executive Summary Amid a significant spike in deaths among individuals experiencing homelessness in San Francisco, including a rise in overdose deaths, expanded harm reduction practices and substance use treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic have shown promising results in reducing death and harm from opioid use. The interventions include providing emergency shelters for higher-risk adults and […]

Joshua Bamberger, Nicky Mehtani, Jessica Ristau Dec 07, 2020

Struggling to Breathe: Asthma, Pollution, and the Fight for Environmental Justice

Executive Summary Asthma rates in the United States are intimately connected with environmental policy choices. Weak regulation or non-compliance with pollution control has resulted in uneven air quality across the country and corresponding elevated health risks. The disease burden has fallen primarily on nonwhite communities, and particularly nonwhite children, who—due to America’s racialized housing geography—tend […]

Rebecca Bratspies Dec 03, 2020

Voters Support Reforming Systems of Incarceration, Probation, and Parole in the United States

Executive Summary American voters believe our legal system should prioritize helping and supporting people over incarcerating them—and probation and parole programs must be reformed to serve that function, new polling shows. Voters want fewer people in jails and prisons, and fewer people subject to surveillance and control by law enforcement. Instead, they want probation and […]

Sean McElwee, Dawn Milam, Alexandria Sousa Nov 18, 2020

The Case for Social Housing

INTRODUCTION The United States is in the midst of a housing crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic catastrophe are making it worse. Over 40 million people may soon be at risk of being thrown out of their homes at a time of great uncertainty. While the recent federal eviction moratorium keeps some people […]

Daniel Aldana Cohen, Mark Paul Nov 02, 2020

How Trump Could Steal the Election

Executive Summary This election has put the basic tenets of our democracy at stake. The vote will place unprecedented stresses on our system of electing a president. Whether the system will be able to withstand these pressures is another matter. American history suggests that our system is vulnerable to periodic breakdowns. Ordinarily the risk of […]

Lawrence Douglas Oct 31, 2020

Gunnigle Leads Maricopa County Attorney Race As Voters Trust Her On Priority Reforms

Executive Summary In the race for Maricopa County Attorney between Democrat Julie Gunnigle and Republican Allister Adel, both candidates have claimed the mantle of “reformer,” as polls consistently show broad support for policies that will reduce Arizona’s reliance on prisons and hold police officers accountable for misconduct. In the state’s most populous county, appearing to be the most “tough […]

The Justice Collaborative Institute Oct 28, 2020

From President and Senate to County Attorney and Sheriff, Democrats Lead Up and Down the Ballot in Arizona

Executive Summary Arizona helped deliver the election to Donald Trump in 2016. However, over the past four years, Republicans have seen a 148,000 voter enrollment advantage trimmed to under 100,000, resulting in historic gains for Democrats in the State Legislature and the election of Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema in 2018. In Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest county, the Democratic candidates […]

The Justice Collaborative Institute Oct 28, 2020

Majority of Maricopa County Voters Don’t Support Prosecuting or Criminalizing Marijuana Possession

Executive Summary A new Data For Progress and The Justice Collaborative Institute poll shows that Maricopa County residents would be more likely to vote for a Maricopa County Attorney (head prosecutor) if she supported ending the prosecution of marijuana possession offenses, commuting sentences currently being served for marijuana possession, and expunging previously convicted possession convictions. […]

Sean McElwee, Lindsey Carlson McLendon Oct 16, 2020

Voters Support Restoring Voting Rights to People Released From Prison

Executive Summary New polling from The Justice Collaborative Institute and Data for Progress shows bipartisan majority support for restoring voting rights to people who have returned home from prison. The polling also shows that more people support than oppose abolishing felony disenfranchisement entirely. In a national survey of 1,195 likely voters, 62% of respondents support enfranchising […]

Sean McElwee, Alexandria Sousa Oct 16, 2020

Maricopa County Voters Want Top Prosecutor To Hold Police Accountable

Executive Summary New polling from Data For Progress and The Justice Collaborative Institute shows bipartisan support among Maricopa County voters for a County Attorney who will embrace new police accountability measures and support new protections against police violence.  Our research found that:  59% of voters, including 52% of Republicans, are more likely to vote for […]

Sean McElwee, Lindsey Carlson McLendon Oct 16, 2020

Texas Voters Support Community-Based Investments in Public Safety as an Alternative to Policing

Executive Summary In the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, a powerful nationwide movement emerged calling to divert money from the police as a solution to police brutality and the systemic racism inherent in current policing methods. In the movement’s view, diverting money would mean passing local policies that take funds originally earmarked […]

The Justice Collaborative Institute, Data for Progress Oct 15, 2020

Final Election Results May Come Later than Voters Expect

Executive Summary A Data For Progress and The Justice Collaborative Institute poll shows that nearly half of likely voters (47%) believe that they will know the winner of the presidential election on election day. These results are alarming because President Donald Trump continues to suggest, and media outlets continue to repeat, that the winner of […]

Dawn Milam, Sean McElwee Oct 14, 2020

Bipartisan Majority of Maricopa County Voters Want Prosecutor Candidates to Not Criminalize Abortion

Executive Summary A Data For Progress and The Justice Collaborative Institute poll shows a bipartisan majority of Maricopa County voters—including 71% of Democrats and 51% Republicans—are more likely to vote for a county attorney who pledges to not prosecute women for seeking an abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.  These results make clear that Maricopa County […]

Sean McElwee, Kyle C. Barry Oct 13, 2020

Republican Voters Will Trust Legislatures That Declare a Trump Win, Despite Competing Results From Media and Election Officials

Executive Summary A new poll from The Justice Collaborative Institute and Data For Progress shows that in the event of a contested election that comes down to a single swing state, such as Pennsylvania, Republican voters would trust the Republican-controlled legislature of that state even if the Democratic Secretary of State and major media outlets […]

Sean McElwee, Alexandria Sousa Oct 13, 2020

Republican Voters Will Trust President Trump If He Declares Himself the Winner

Executive Summary A Data For Progress and The Justice Collaborative Institute poll shows extreme partisan polarization when it comes to who voters trust to call the results of the 2020 presidential election, including the presidential candidates themselves and the mainstream media. Republican voters overwhelmingly trust President Donald Trump to call the results of the presidential […]

Sean McElwee, Ravi Mangla, Alexandria Sousa Oct 12, 2020

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