News

East Bay Express covers April Berkeley IGS Poll findings on California voters' concerns about the state of American democracy

May 19, 2026
Janis Hashe

The East Bay Express reported on findings from the April Berkeley IGS Poll of 5,962 registered California voters on the state of American democracy, drawing extensively on remarks by IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler at the April 27 Sacramento event co-sponsored by IGS and the UCLA Voting Rights Project. The article highlights key poll findings, including that 68% of respondents feel American democracy is under attack, 64% cited voter suppression as a major concern, and 79% believe corporations have too much influence on elections. Schickler noted that while California voters broadly...

LoCALDig Project: One Million Pages and Counting!

May 5, 2026
Paul D King

As we approach summer, the IGS LoCAL Digitization Project is reaching a series of significant milestones. In just two years, the project has grown into a substantial digital collection, representing hundreds of cities and counties and capturing decades of local policy decisions. Few comparable archives of local government materials exist at this scale in a fully accessible digital format.

We officially reached our one millionth page digitized in March 2026! This page, from the...

California Local Government Pamphlets: Early Municipal Governance in Practice

January 9, 2026
Paul King

Rules (Including Classification) of the Civil Service Commission, City of San Diego, California
As...

Undocumented Immigrants in California: Evidence from Local Government Publications

February 26, 2026
Paul King
Undocumented Immigrants in California: Evidence from Local Government Publications

Undocumented immigration is among the most debated public policy issues in the United States. Estimates[1] from the Pew Research Center place the undocumented population at approximately 14 million nationwide as of 2023. California has long been central to discussions around undocumented...

Reading the Covers: Community and Change in Local Government Documents

April 10, 2026
Paul D King
Reading the Covers: Community and Change in Local Government Documents

As we digitize local government documents, certain cover designs begin to stand out. Many public documents follow a familiar pattern of cover imagery: text-heavy, highly formal, and primarily functional. However, in many documents produced after the late 1960’s, a different visual approach emerges: Children’s drawings, bright colors, scenes of families and neighborhoods, and other imagery that feel less formal and more approachable.

By the late 1960s, public attitudes...

The New York Times cites IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler in interactive feature on how redistricting is reducing competitive House races ahead of the 2026 midterms

May 18, 2026
Ashley Wu

The New York Times cited IGS Co-Director and UC Berkeley political science professor Eric Schickler in an interactive data feature examining how nationwide redistricting battles are shrinking the number of competitive congressional districts ahead of the November 2026 midterms. Schickler characterized the trend as a self-reinforcing cycle, warning that eliminating competitive seats diminishes voter participation and weakens elected officials' incentives to respond to public dissatisfaction. The piece draws on presidential vote margin data across states including Florida, Texas, California...

Chicago Magazine features IGS Resident Scholar Kathleen Morris in article on the rise of municipal affirmative litigation

December 8, 2025
Ben Austen

Chicago Magazine's January 2026 issue featured IGS Resident Scholar and law professor Kathleen Morris in a deep-dive on how cities are increasingly using affirmative litigation as a tool to hold corporations and the federal government accountable. The article traces the origins of the movement to 2006, when San Francisco became the first city in the nation to form a dedicated affirmative litigation unit, with Morris at its helm. Her work pioneering that model — which has since spread to dozens of cities nationwide — offers important context for understanding how local governments are...

KSWB Fox 5 Morning News covers California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber's remarks on the Voter ID ballot measure at IGS co-sponsored Sacramento event

April 28, 2026

KSWB Fox 5 Morning News aired a report by Capitol Correspondent Eytan Wallace on the qualification of Assemblymember Carl DeMaio's Voter ID ballot measure for the November 2026 ballot, featuring reaction from both supporters and opponents of the initiative. The segment includes remarks from California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber, who was interviewed at the April 27 Sacramento event co-sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Studies and the UC Student and Policy Center, where IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler presented findings from the April Berkeley IGS Poll on Californians'...

KRON4 covers California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber's remarks on the Voter ID ballot measure at IGS co-sponsored Sacramento event

April 28, 2026

KRON4 Capitol Correspondent Eytan Wallace reported on the qualification of Assemblymember Carl DeMaio's Voter ID ballot measure for the November 2026 ballot, featuring reaction from both supporters and opponents of the initiative. The segment includes remarks from California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber, who was interviewed at the April 27 Sacramento event co-sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Studies and the UC Student and Policy Center, where IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler presented findings from the April Berkeley IGS Poll on Californians' opinions on the state of...

KGET covers California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber's remarks on the Voter ID ballot measure at IGS co-sponsored Sacramento event

April 28, 2026

KGET Capitol Correspondent Eytan Wallace reported on the qualification of Assemblymember Carl DeMaio's Voter ID ballot measure for the November 2026 ballot, featuring reaction from both supporters and opponents of the initiative. The segment includes remarks from California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber, who was interviewed at the April 27 Sacramento event co-sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Studies and the UC Student and Policy Center, where IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler presented findings from the April Berkeley IGS Poll on Californians' opinions on the state of...