3.1: Electoral Reform
Implement Electoral Reform Other Information:
The integrity of our electoral system is a fundamental pillar of democracy. We must guarantee the reliability of the primary
mechanism through which citizens determine their leaders. The President and Congress should take the following steps. Move
toward universal voter registration for all eligible Americans. To help get there, we should, first, adopt Election Day Registration
for all Federal elections; and, second, ensure that the Department of Justice fully enforces the National Voter Registration
Act, notably Section 7, which mandates voter registration through public assistance agencies. Protect our electoral system
from the distorting effects of money and empower ordinary citizens within the political process, through public financing
of Congressional as well as Presidential elections. The Durbin/Spector bill is the model to follow for Congressional elections,
while the Feingold/Collins bill goes in the right direction for Presidential candidates. Both systems amplify the power of
small donations and increase the ability of voters to hold their elected officials accountable. Make elections easier through
broad adoption of voter-convenience measures such as early voting and vote by mail. Develop national standards for election
administration, so that voters anywhere in the country have a similarly simple experience, with a similarly high degree of
confidence that their votes will be counted fairly and accurately. This will require funding. The process could be overseen
by the White House Office of Civic Engagement. Support ranked-choice ballots and instant-runoff elections as another way to
protect voters from unrepresentative outcomes and ensure a fair reflection of voter sentiment. This is a reform favored by
both of the 2008 Presidential candidates. These policy reforms have been recommended and drafted by a variety of election
reform organizations.
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