Our Common Purpose - Reflections at the Midpoint

FEDERAL

• Enlarging the House of Representatives. REAL House Act, introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR); Equal Voices Act, introduced by Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL). 
• Responsive Government. Trust in Public Service Act, introduced by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), would improve trust in the federal government by establishing customer experience as a central measure of performance for agencies and the federal government.
• Connected Communities. Building Civic Bridges Act, introduced by Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), establishes an office and pilot grant program within the Corporation for National and Community Service to support civic bridge building.
• Social Media as Civic Media. Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA), introduced by Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), would require social media companies to share more data with the public and researchers.
• National Service. The American Rescue Plan Act appropriated $1 billion to expanding national service. The American Climate Corps launched by the Biden-Harris administration to inspire young Americans to build a climate resilient economy.
• Invest in Civic Education. Civics Secures Democracy Act, introduced by Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), requires the National Assessment of Education Progress in civics and history to be administered every two years to certain grade levels and establishes the Civics Secures Democracy Fund.

STATE

• Ranked Choice Voting. In 2023, 24 cities and counties used RCV in their elections – two of them, Boulder, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah, used RCV for the first time to elect their mayors. Seven cities across five states voted to adopt or expand the use of RCV.
• Empowered voters. In 2023, at least 23 states enacted 47 laws that make it easier to vote. Minnesota and Pennsylvania adopted automatic voter registration and authorized young voters to pre-register before they turn 18. Michigan, New Mexico, and Minnesota adopted automatic voter registration for formerly incarcerated individuals. New York will require high schools to distribute voter registration forms to students.
• National Service. The Serve Act established a first-in-the nation public service year program for high school graduates in Maryland. Arizona, Maryland, Minnesots, North Carolina, and Utah launched state-level Climate Corps programs. Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced two executive orders to promote service and volunteerism statewide.
• America at 250. 42 states and territories launched commissions to develop programming to commemorate the nation’s 250^th anniversary in 2026.

• The Academy convened a working group to develop a blueprint for the Trust which has been used to build support from the philanthropic community and civil society leaders.
• Now under fiscal sponsorship, the Trust has commitments from seven major philanthropies totaling $24 million and is actively recruiting a set of funders that reflect the diversity of America.
• The Trust will launch in 2024 with a 5-year demonstration phase to experiment and test different approaches of working in partnership with local communities and supporting civic infrastructure building.

• Champion Network. The Academy established a network of over 75 champion organizations from across the nation that are committed to advancing one or more OCP recommendations.
• Inspiring New Initiatives. Our Common Purpose has served as an inspiration and blueprint for new democracy reform programs, including: More Perfect: Partnership for American Democracy; the Bridging Movement Alignment Council (BMAC); Educating for American Democracy; the Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation at Middlebury College; and the Fourth Founding Collective at the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University.
• Educating for Democracy. OCP has been used in college classrooms, with graduate students at public policy schools, with adult learners, in book clubs, and with groups like local chapters of the League of Women Voters.
• Connecting Local Communities. The Our Common Purpose Communities Project aims to connect and support local communities working to revitalize democracy.