Reinventing the American Democracy
It sounds radical. But here’s why we need to do it.
The American people are polarized. Cities are burning because people feel like they can’t get heard any other way. Congress is deadlocked at a time when the country needs legislation to move forward on multiple critical issues. And now, with the election looming, the debates over voter suppression and the credibility of mail-in voting are taking a front seat. Everywhere you look, the American democracy shows signs of strain and uncertainty. It feels like this trend is worsening, and you don’t see an end to it any time soon. You’re not the only one who’s worried.
Fast forward. It’s now 2040, and the trends of 2020 have been allowed to continue. The Presidency and Congress have swung back to ultra-conservatism, having been ultra-progressive for the previous 8 years. Legislation that moves the country forward only passes during a first presidential term, before voters run representatives of the President’s party out of office and restore gridlock. Inaction on climate change has led to massive population relocations, and Asian and European countries have sanctioned the U.S. for not establishing and meeting climate goals. Inflation runs rampant, since the sanctions have led to chronic tariffs that make foreign-made products prohibitively expensive. China and the European Union now lead the world in most cutting-edge technologies, from telecommunication to space exploration, and are the preferred destination for immigrants due to their forward-looking and efficient economies. Mass shootings, including at schools, are commonplace. The deteriorating roads are an inconvenience, a stark difference between the extremely fast, streamlined transportation systems in every other major economy. Crime and violence frequently occur in communities divided based on race and ideology.
But imagine, instead, a 2040 where we acted to fix the dangerous trends in the American democracy we see today. The citizenry is engaged in the political process and is savvy about fake news and political misrepresentations. Bipartisan groups are convened to work out solutions to the issues of the day — not only in Congress but at the local levels, as well. The U.S. has again become the model that all other societies look up to. The federal government works. The toughest problems, like climate change and racial justice, are attacked head on with efficiency and efficacy, and we lead the world in most areas of endeavor. Special interests no longer determine elections and policy.
What can be done to ensure our future looks like this? We need a detailed and far-reaching plan to renew the American democracy, a plan to prepare us to face the new challenges of the 21st century and steer us back on the course of being the example democracy of the world. Making such a plan is an immense task. Fortunately for us, someone has already done it.
The Plan for Reinvention
In 2018, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a society that has consisted of many of the country’s leading thinkers and business people since the days of Thomas Jefferson, recognized the dangerous trends in our democracy. They saw that the American political situation had changed dramatically in the last couple decades, from the rise of partisan polarization, social media, and “fake news,” to the emergence of challenges America has never faced before, including climate change, a major 21st century pandemic, and the rise of China as a direct challenge to American influence on the world stage. The Academy formed a bipartisan commission and, over the course of two years, conducted dozens of community listening sessions and spoke with civic leaders across the country about their own projects. They realized that to counter the currents of domestic polarization, distrust, and apathy, we need to build a “collective commitment to democratic citizenship, to American democracy, and to one another” [1]. (For a reminder on why democracy is essential, see this article I wrote.) The following section outlines the Academy Commission’s plan and how it can heal our democracy by 2026.
The Commission started by identifying that our constitutional democracy works best when there’s a healthy connection between voters and their elected representatives. That healthy connection is a cycle where responsive and representative political institutions, like Congress and the Presidency, foster a civic culture of participation and responsibility to the country and each other, while the active civic culture “keeps our political institutions responsive and inclusive” [1]. The Commission produced six strategies to achieve the aforementioned cycle and bring our democracy into a new age:
- Achieve equality of voice and representation through our political institutions;
- Empower voters in a lasting way;
- Ensure the responsiveness of our political institutions;
- Dramatically expand the capacity of civil society organizations that foster “bridging” across lines of difference;
- Build civic information architecture that supports common purpose; and
- Inspire a culture of commitment to American constitutional democracy and one another.
The study details specific recommendations on how to implement the six strategies. Many recommendations are familiar, as the Commission benefited from the experience and insight shared by interviewed experts. The innovation, however, lies in how the Commission combined the “ideas and insights into a coherent vision for democratic reinvention” [1]. Below we’ve highlighted the Commission recommendations we find the most interesting and impactful, grouped by strategy. In the interest of brevity, we omitted some recommendations. Find the full list of recommendations that make up the comprehensive plan to reshape the American democracy on the Academy’s website here.
Strategy 1: Achieve Equality of Voice and Representation
By reducing the politicization of processes like Supreme Court nominations and redistricting and by ensuring that everyone’s vote counts equally regardless of wealth or situation, our democracy will better represent the will of the people at the highest levels.
1.2 Introduce ranked-choice voting in presidential, congressional, and state elections
Currently, most elections in the United States are determined by the winner-take-all systems, meaning that candidates who receive the plurality of votes, and not necessarily the majority, win the elections. When candidates only win a plurality of votes, they could be disliked by a majority of voters. That means a vocal minority can impose its will over a moderate majority, causing candidates to cater to political fringes and putting pressure on third-party candidates to not run in order to avoid splitting the vote. Run-off elections can solve this, but they are costly and often experience low turnout.
The better alternative is ranked-choice voting (RCV). From the study:
“Instead of choosing only one candidate, voters choose their preferred candidate and then rank their second choice, their third choice, and so on. After votes are tallied, the least popular candidate is removed, and that candidate’s supporters’ votes are allocated to their second choices. The process continues until a single candidate receives a majority of votes. The reallocation of votes is tantamount to a run-off election, without the need for voters to show up at the polls a second time.”
Already, RCV is used in Maine and New York City, among other places. Because second and third choice candidate choices matter in the RCV system, candidates will have to appeal to a broader range of voters, resulting in more moderate candidates and campaigns, more third-party participation, and a greater feeling in voters that their votes count.
1.4 Create independent, citizen-run redistricting commissions in all fifty states
A political tactic that is universally despised in this country is gerrymandering. Voters often cite it as a reason for disenchantment with our political system. It’s nothing new, but in recent decades it has become far more prevalent and effective for both American political parties. Take, for example, North Carolina, known to have strongly gerrymandered districts.
“Republicans won the statewide popular vote by only two percent (50 to 48 percent), but nonetheless held onto ten of the state’s thirteen congressional seats.”
Handing over the reigns to independent citizen-redistricting commissions is an effective way to end partisan gerrymandering that’s already being used in Arizona and, soon, in Michigan [1].
1.5 Regulate election contributions and spending to eliminate undue influence of money.
The role of big money in politics has always been contradictory to the concept of equality of voice and representation, but the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited contributions from corporations opened a Pandora’s Box of money’s undue influence in American elections (see the graphic below). And though the current makeup of the Supreme Court makes it unlikely that the decision will be overturned, 20 states have already passed legislation in support of a constitutional amendment allowing Congress to regulate campaign spending.
1.6 Require full transparency for campaign donations.
Money in politics not only poses a problem to our representative democracy in its sheer price tag (over $6 billion in the 2016 elections), but also in the fact that its purposes and sources are often undisclosed. Though Citizens United prevents regulation of the amount of spending, strong disclosure laws are still a viable avenue of reform. Disclosure has been shown to deter some funding and mitigate the impact of special-interest spending.
1.8 Mandate 18-year terms for Supreme Court justices with appointments staggered such that one nomination comes up during each term of Congress.
Because of longer life-spans than in the 18th century, increased polarization, more frequent high-impact 5–4 rulings, and the luck of the draw in which some presidents get to choose multiple justices while others choose few to none, the appointment of Supreme Court justices has become a hotly debated presidential election topic. Transitioning to 18 year terms would solve these problems. Retired justices could transition to a lower court or gain senior status. Appointments would be made once every term of Congress so that each president could nominate up to two per term, thereby depoliticizing the appointment process and making the court less partisan.
Strategy 2: Empower Voters
The premise is that the greater the voter turnout, the better. This has not always been the goal (the founding fathers were less inclusive) and there may still be those who oppose the “tyranny of the many.” One argument is that many individuals are simply not sufficiently aware of the issues to make a proper choice. Any form of voter suppression is unacceptable, though, so the key is to make sure the populace views voting not only as a right but also a serious obligation, one which involves educating oneself on the issues and candidates. This awareness begins at an early age and is the responsibility of schools and parents. As other goals of Our Common Purpose are achieved, citizens will feel more empowered and enthusiasm will grow.
2.1 Provide more choices for time, location, and method of voting.
In order to empower and inspire voters, obstacles to registering and voting must be removed. Voting must be made easy and attractive, and there are a number of easy-to-implement recommendations, many of which are already in place in some states. During national emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, officials need to act quickly to protect the right to vote (through methods like voting by mail) and the legitimacy of outcomes.
2.2 Make election day a federal holiday
Aligning federal elections on Veterans Day emphasizes that voting is a patriotic activity and makes voting easier for working voters.
2.3 Establish same-day registration and universal automatic voter registration.
Reducing friction for American citizens to register to vote is proven to increase voter turnout. 65 percent of Americans support automatically registering all eligible citizens to vote, and it’s already working in Oregon and Vermont.
2.5 Make voting in federal elections a requirement of citizenship.
A federal requirement to vote, punishable by a small fine, is similar to requirements in place in Australia. There, making voting mandatory increased participation from 50% (similar to in the U.S.) to over 90%. Fines are very rare, as citizens have learned to accept the responsibility — like jury duty but with much less inconvenience. Previously listed recommendations that make it easier to cast a vote, plus the option to vote for “none of the above” or cast a blank ballot, should ease, if not eliminate, concerns about individual rights and freedoms.
Strategy 3: Ensure the Responsiveness of Political Institutions
Aside from voting, how else can American citizens participate in our democracy? With the implementation of Strategy 3, representatives will be more closely connected to their constituents through improved participation and engagement in traditional public meetings like town hall forums and congressional hearings and through the offering of new alternatives.
3.2 Create a mechanism for members of Congress to regularly interact with a random sample of their constituents about policy under consideration.
Random sampling can create a representative selection from the constituent population. Then nonpartisan briefing information on the issue would be given to the selected individuals to prepare them for the direct conversation with their representative.
3.3 Use citizen assemblies on issues of Congress’s choosing to have Americans’ voices heard directly on the floor.
Citizen assemblies would study an issue and give their recommendations to Congress. Many European nations already use citizen assemblies, including in Ireland where a citizen assembly began the process to enact gay rights legislation.
Strategy 5: Build Civic Information Architecture that Supports Common Purpose
In the past decade, social media has “fed polarization, spread disinformation, and diminished the quality of public debate.” However, social media and other digital platforms have the potential to be used for good, to support democracy and our sense of common purpose.
5.1 Articulate and measure social media’s civic obligations.
Develop metrics to evaluate how well social media platforms are fulfilling civic purpose. For example, one could test if a platform is exposing people to diverse viewpoints, or if it’s promoting misinformation, extremist views, or foreign interests. Evaluating social media platforms with the new metrics will help usher in a new era of “civic media.”
5.2 Subsidize public functions that social media has displaced like local journalism.
Public functions such as local journalism have been displaced by digital platforms. For example, many newspapers that support local journalism have had to close their doors due to the prevalence of news on the internet. One easy way to restore the balance is to tax digital advertising (which isn’t done now, partly due to legal issues) and use those funds to support local journalism and other public-platform experiments.
Strategy 6: Inspire a Culture of Commitment to American Constitutional Democracy and One Another
In order for our democracy to thrive for years to come, there must be a renewed culture, an enthusiasm and sense of responsibility, for improving it and keeping it healthy. Imagine an American citizenry that’s fired up, not angry, about improvement. The other 5 strategies will go a long way to spur enthusiasm, but there’s more to it. Strategy 6 suggests either federal funding or federal encouragement, and sometimes organization of private initiatives, to inspire a new culture of commitment to our democracy.
6.1 Establish a universal expectation of a year of national service
National service, similar to the Peace Corps, would be expected, but not required. In addition to serving communities, national service programs would allow participants to develop skills and networks and explore potential career paths. To encourage such service, a “baby bonds” program could be created in which the government puts $10,000 in a tax-advantaged savings plan for every child born in the United States. Once those children become adults, they complete their year of national service, after which they would receive their savings funds. The funds of those who do not complete their year of service would be returned to the government [1].
What can YOU do?
These are a lot of big changes (without mentioning the full list in the study and even some that the study doesn’t include but could be really impactful, like official campaign fact-checking and a mandated shortening of campaign timelines). The Commission hopes for them all to be implemented by 2026. That will require buy-in and decisive action from all levels of government; it will also require involvement from us, the American public. We need to be educated and vocal about what we want from our representatives. Here are a few things you can do to begin reshaping the American democracy and our collective future:
VOTE! — Make sure your voice is heard by voting in federal, state, and local elections. Make a difference and choose candidates who support changes like those outlined above.
Call your Congressman/Representative and tell them your vision for the 21st century American democracy — go to this link to find your representatives.
Volunteer or donate:
- Common Cause — A nonpartisan organization with the goal of “building a democracy that works for all of us.” They fight against gerrymandering, money’s influence in elections, voter suppression, and more.
- Rock the Vote — Get involved to help make democratic participation more accessible and defend young people’s right to vote.
- Or find your own nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving our democracy.
Share this article with your friends and encourage them to get involved!
