Electoral Reform

Our election laws need fundamental reform to strengthen our democracy and make it responsive to the needs of average citizens.  For too long the interests of the public have been sold-out by elected officials who are beholden to their big-money donors and special interests.  For too long, politicians from both parties have colluded to make elections uncompetitive and to keep themselves in power.  For too long citizens have not bothered voting in a system where, frequently, their vote does not matter.  Now is the time to rebuild the foundation of our democracy and to truly form a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people”.

To strengthen our American democracy, I specifically support a constitutional amendment and conforming laws that would provide for:

Publicly funded elections—to free candidates from the strings attached to campaign contributions and to make them answerable only to their constituents, I support public funding for federal elections.  Laws that provide public funding for elections at the states level in places like Arizona and Maine can serve as a model for publicly funded federal elections.    

Saturday elections and mail-in votes—to enable more citizens to cast a vote, federal elections should be moved from a Tuesday to a Saturday.  Additionally, voters should have the option of mailing in their vote before the day of the election.  Mail-in voting has been both popular and successful in Washington State .

Registering all eligible voters through the census—With census takers finding and collecting information on every single person living in America every ten years, this would be the perfect opportunity to register every eligible voter.

A Duty to vote with a “None of the Above” voting option—Democracy only works if the public participates.  Voting would become a civic duty that citizens must perform in exchange for the benefits we all derive from citizenship in this great country.  If a citizen does not like any of the candidates, a “None of the Above” voting option will always be a possibility.  There is no harm in measuring public discontent.

Non-partisan drawing of congressional districts—gerrymandered districts designed to protect incumbents have made the vast majority of congressional elections uncompetitive.  To make elections meaningful, the boundaries of congressional districts should be drawn by non-partisan panels to make rational districts without regard to the political inclinations of the people living in the districts. 

A popularly elected president—The Electoral College is a historical anomaly; created at a time when the political elite did not trust average citizens to choose their own president.  As a nation, we have matured beyond those backward attitudes.  It is wrong that your vote for president is largely meaningless unless you happen to live in one of the few states where Republicans and Democrats are evenly split.  Virginians matter too—Democrats and Republicans alike—but our voices will never be heard by presidents and presidential candidates so long as we keep the Electoral College.  Everybody’s vote should count equally and a simple, popular election will abide by that principle.    

Instant Run-off Voting—would allow citizens to vote their conscience without fear that doing so would throw the election to a dreaded candidate.  It would also encourage higher voter turnout and a more interesting public debate as more candidates would be encouraged to compete in elections.      

Enfranchisement for every citizen—electoral accommodations should be made so that all U.S. citizens should have representation in Congress and be able to vote in presidential elections.  There are almost five million U.S. citizens in the District of Columbia , Puerto Rico, Guam, and other U.S. territories who do not have full representation at the federal level.

Download a .PDF version of this policy paper.