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Why Voting Apps Keep Getting Hacked
Civic Engagement

Why Voting Apps Keep Getting Hacked

The security problem with digital voting isn't technical immaturity—it's a fundamental conflict between verification and secrecy.

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CivicInnovator
4 min read
Why Most Civic Apps Fail Within Two Years
Civic Engagement

Why Most Civic Apps Fail Within Two Years

The predictable patterns that doom digital democracy projects—and how to avoid repeating expensive mistakes

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CivicInnovator
4 min read
The False Promise of Blockchain Voting
Civic Engagement

The False Promise of Blockchain Voting

Why cryptographic solutions can't fix problems that aren't cryptographic

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CivicInnovator
4 min read
Why Petition Platforms Rarely Change Policy
Civic Engagement

Why Petition Platforms Rarely Change Policy

Millions of signatures, minimal policy impact—the structural reasons petitions fail and what actually works

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
The Rise of Surveillance Cities
Civic Engagement

The Rise of Surveillance Cities

Smart city sensors promise efficiency but deliver unprecedented surveillance—can democratic governance catch up?

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
Crowdsourcing Laws That Citizens Actually Use
Civic Engagement

Crowdsourcing Laws That Citizens Actually Use

When citizen involvement produces better laws, not just more democratic ones

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CivicInnovator
4 min read
Building Digital Infrastructure for Civic Resilience
Civic Engagement

Building Digital Infrastructure for Civic Resilience

What separates communities that maintain democratic function during crises from those that don't? Infrastructure decisions made years earlier.

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
How 311 Systems Reveal Civic Inequality
Civic Engagement

How 311 Systems Reveal Civic Inequality

Examining how non-emergency request systems expose neighborhood disparities and what cities can do to transform these tools into instruments of municipal equity

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
Why Government AI Needs Democratic Oversight
Civic Engagement

Why Government AI Needs Democratic Oversight

How invisible algorithmic discretion undermines accountability and what governance frameworks can restore democratic control over automated public decisions

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
Digital Identity Systems That Protect Democracy
Civic Engagement

Digital Identity Systems That Protect Democracy

How architectural choices in digital ID systems determine who can participate in democracy—and who watches them do it

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
How Civic Technology Widens the Participation Gap
Civic Engagement

How Civic Technology Widens the Participation Gap

Why digital democracy tools often serve the already-engaged while creating new barriers for marginalized communities

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
The Psychology of Civic App Abandonment
Civic Engagement

The Psychology of Civic App Abandonment

Why citizens download civic apps with enthusiasm but abandon them within weeks—and what behavioral science reveals about sustaining democratic technology engagement

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
Citizen Assemblies in the Digital Age
Civic Engagement

Citizen Assemblies in the Digital Age

How digital tools can strengthen or undermine the legitimacy of randomly selected citizen deliberation—and what determines which outcome you get.

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CivicInnovator
6 min read
Digital Public Squares That Don't Become Toxic
Civic Engagement

Digital Public Squares That Don't Become Toxic

Platform design, community investment, and legitimate moderation determine whether online civic spaces enable democracy or destroy it.

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
Participatory Budgeting Beyond the Pilot
Civic Engagement

Participatory Budgeting Beyond the Pilot

Why most participatory budgeting programs stall and the structural design choices that determine whether citizen involvement becomes permanent democratic infrastructure.

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CivicInnovator
5 min read
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