I hope you're having a wonderful Thursday. As we approach the week’s end, I wanted to give you a brief update. Next week, I'll have the privilege of attending the American Democracy Summit, which means we’ll be taking a brief pause from sending our regular weekly update. However, I'm excited for what updates I'll have to share upon my return.

Our collective efforts within the Bridge Alliance are centered around strengthening our nation, and we approach this mission from a diverse range of perspectives. Each field represented within our alliance is gearing up for the upcoming election cycle in its distinct way. In this week’s resources, you’ll see the diversity of focus, ranging from public polling on perspectives concerning money in politics to an exploration of the connection between the loneliness epidemic and the state of our civic life. We’re following the emerging slate of 2024 candidates coming into view, as well as discussions on who should lead the parties. 

Relevant to any discussion on candidates is the recent announcement of the Team Democracy and Carter Center initiative, Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections. We’re also proud to announce our organizational support for this initiative and its underlying principles. These principles underscore the essential cornerstones of a healthy constitutional democracy, including integrity, nonviolence, security, oversight, and the peaceful transfer of power. 

So, what ties all of these endeavors together? It's our collective commitment to the health and vitality of our democracy and our relentless pursuit of social cohesion that benefits both individuals and our collective community. Each of these initiatives contributes to our overarching mission: forging a stronger, more inclusive, and more responsive democratic system.

I look forward to sharing more about the incredible work happening within our movement when I return from the summit. Until then, have a fantastic two weeks!

Featured Content

AllSides (Blog) September 18th: When Impeachment Isn’t That Interesting Anymore

Ballotpedia (Blog) September 21st: 14 U.S. House members have announced they will not run for re-election in 2024, below 2018-2022 average

Citizen Data/American Promise (Poll) September 18th: 2023 National Poll

Citizen Data/Institute for Citizens and Scholars (Poll) September 21st: The Civic Outlook of Young Adults in America

Essential Partners (Article) September 18th: Surgeon General: Loneliness Epidemic Requires Investments In Social Connection

Divided We Fall (Article) September 20th: Who Should Lead the Democratic Party in 2024?

Independent Voter Network (Article) September 20th: Party Members Only: The Bipartisan Scheme to Rig Presidential Debates | Independent Voter News

Team Democracy (Press Release) September 18th: The Carter Center and Team Democracy Unite to Advance Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections

Podcasts & Videos

Ballotpedia (On the Ballot) September 7th: Almanac of American Politics Author Rich Cohen

Common Ground Committee (Let’s Find Common Ground) September 14th: A New Definition of Citizenship: Rights and Obligations. Richard Haass

The Center for Politics at UVA (Politics is Everything) September 20th: What Can Save Us From AI?

The Democracy Group (Democracy Decoded) September 20th: All Politics is Local

The McCourtney Institute for Democracy (Democracy Works) September 18th: Building better bureaucracy

Citizen Connect Featured Events

Network for Responsible Public Policy (September 21st @ 7:30 pm EDT) State of the 2024 Elections: Context and Predictions from Academe

Better Arguments Project (September 26th @ 3 pm EDT) Better Arguments 101

American Public Square (September 26th @ 5:30 pm CDT) Exploring Gender and Identity: A Respectful Conversation About Evolving Ideologies

RepresentUs (September 27 - 29) American Democracy Summit 2023

Living Room Conversations (September 28th @ 9 am MDT) Relationships First Conversation

Featured Fulcrum Articles

Julio A. Alicea, September 21st: To advance racial equity, policy makers must move away from the "Black and Brown" discourse

Rick LaRue & Jamie Raskin, September 21st: Constitution Day conversation with Jamie Raskin: Preserving democracy today and tomorrow

Michael Beckel & Ariana Rojas (Issue One) September 20th: Meet the Faces of Democracy: Stephen Richer

Pedro Silva (YOUnify) September 20th: The alchemy of laughter

Lisa Kay Solomon, September 19th: Learning to make “the right call” in the right moments