Restoring Our Democracy

Our democracy is totally broken. The political system is rigged in favor of the wealthy and powerful. Special interests fund the campaigns of politicians, who do their corporate bidding once in office. Ordinary citizens, whose voices are already limited by a system that does not count everyone’s votes equally, face increased voter suppression by Republicans seeking to disenfranchise voters. However, this is a bipartisan problem: our present system walls off new voices and movements to protect an establishment that has corrupted our democracy. Not surprisingly, less than 10% of District 16 turned out for the last congressional primary.

Our platform and campaign recognize the corrosive influence of money in politics and the inherent inequality of our unrepresentative electoral system.

We will work to increase participation in the democratic system, to enfranchise those who have historically been disenfranchised, and to further democratize our democratic processes.

Our Plan:

• Automatic voter registration for all US citizens when they turn 18

• Repeal Citizens United, which enabled unprecedented amounts of outside campaign financing and led to the creation of SuperPACs, by constitutional amendment

• Support HR 4000, The Fair Representation Act, which supports “fair representation voting” through multi-representative districts, ranked choice voting, and independent redistricting commissions.

• Support the Government By the People Act, which would create a nationwide matching fund system for elections

• Support the American Anti-Corruption Act and the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act to stop the revolving door between government and lobbying

• Support the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 to counter the damage of Shelby v. Holder.

• Guarantee voter enfranchisement for all formerly and currently incarcerated citizens

• Abolish the Electoral College by constitutional amendment