Evan Wolfson

President, Freedom to Marry; author, 'Why Marriage Matters'

The clock is ticking on turning our 2012 momentum into the next wave of wins that can help create the climate that maximizes our chances of winning in the Supreme Court, but let's savor and take inspiration from Freedom to Marry's top 10 marriage moments in 2012.

Elisabeth MacNamara

President, League of Women Voters of the United States

As more and more Americans use the Internet for daily tasks like paying bills and banking, states must develop online voter registration programs to modernize registration and make it more efficient.

Robert Hall

Author of 'This Land of Strangers,' consultant, and relationship speaker

Politics aside, one of the defining stories of the 2012 presidential election was how sales and marketing relationship-building efforts delivered unexpected, targeted voter turnout.

Debra L. Ness

President, National Partnership for Women & Families

These modest, reasonable proposals would go a long way toward protecting the health and economic stability of our families while also strengthening our economy. America's workers and families need and deserve them. It's time for lawmakers to act.

Theodore Johnson

Writer, 2012 White House Fellow

Recognizing that the party cannot survive with the country's changing demographics without diversifying its constituents, this speech is the first step in a concerted effort to attract the African-American vote.

Daniel Fein

Undergraduate Student at NYU

I had a mission before the election because I knew that I was lost when it came to politics. The stories and information during political segments of the news seemed to go in one ear and out the other. I had a knowledge gap, a void that I wanted to catch in its tracks.

Paul Stoller

Professor of Anthropology, West Chester University; Author, 'The Power of the Between'

In the wake of Obama's resounding victory, many people in the GOP base refuse to accept the election results. So what happens if the GOP's fear of change persists even in the face of overwhelming evidence that American society is becoming a multilingual and multicultural?

Peg Perl

Staff Counsel, Colorado Ethics Watch

As a much-hyped swing state, Colorado is on the brink of a constant cycle of struggles over control of elections subject to national scrutiny.

Patrick Faust and Matthew McGregor

Winning international campaigns will study Obama's precedent-setting victory -- and won't just copy his tactics, but rather use his fundamentals to build a strategy tailored to their race and technologies.

Mark Rice

Professor and chair of the Department of American Studies, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York

While demonizing whole states may feel good, it does little to illuminate the complex realities of American politics.

Cynthia Dill

Civil rights lawyer; former Maine Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate 2012

I lost my first election by six votes. The next several races I won. My career in politics progressed: town councilor, state representative, state senator, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. All along, Carol was there. All along, we held opposite worldviews.

Ed Crego, George Muñoz and Frank Islam

Bloggers on 21st-century citizenship

It's important because a vibrant two-party system makes our republic stronger. It provides the basis for compromise, forward momentum and progress. If the Republicans continue to play in a league of their own, they and our democracy will be worse off for it.

Josh Silver

Director, Represent.Us

For those of us who care less about partisanship and more about what our elected officials actually do -- or fail to do -- once in office, the 2012 election portends a bleak future.

Dan Froomkin

Contributing editor, Nieman Reports

Fearful of appearing biased, the elite political press failed to call sufficient attention to the Republican Party's radical agenda and disdain for facts. The result is that in the name of balance, the press actually put its thumb on the scale, and prevented a true reckoning.

Gavin Shulman

Writer, Producer

Haven't you read about it somewhere else already? Do you want me to repeat what you already know? Offer an opinion that definitely doesn't matter and won't change your mind?

Paul Steven Stone

Novelist, essayist

I don't know about you, but I'm going to move to the other side of the electoral bed and light up a cigarette. Anyone have a match? And how sw...