A Democracy that Works for All of Us

Democracy

The Problem – villains and their threats: Campaign contributions from the wealthy and big corporations, barriers to voting and anti-democratic rules block the voices and representation of the vast majority of people.

• The rules allow the wealthy and big corporations to have a louder voice than working families and the middle class.

When it takes so much money to run for office, it’s tough for regular people to get elected and represent their communities.

• Some elected officials who want to hold on to power – backed by the wealthy and big corporations – erect barriers to voting, often directed at people of color and young adults.
• Anti-democratic rules that give some people a bigger voice than others, don’t let the majority rule and let elected officials to choose their own voters, undermining the very fabric of our democracy.

Our solution – heroes: Our democracy depends on every voice being heard, everyone being able to vote and ordinary people being able to compete fairly for office.

How we get there –  We need to rewrite the rules of our democracy so that every voice is heard:

• Empower small donors: Match small contributions to candidates with a limited amount of public funds, so that ordinary people can run for office and represent their communities.
• Take down barriers to voting: Take down barriers to voting with automatic registration, expanded online registration, and expanded early and mail-in voting to strengthen our democracy. Prohibit voter ID and other laws that are directed at making it harder for people to vote.
• Expand and protect the vote: People who have served their time and are on parole should be allowed to vote.
• Stop partisan manipulation of districts: Reform the rules and make the process of drawing districts impartial, so that our government is of, by, and for the people.
• Assure that the majority rules: Eliminate the antiquated Electoral College so that the candidate for President who gets the most votes wins the election.

Call to action – It’s up to us to demand that we take down the barriers to every voice being heard, so that our democracy and government work for all of us, not just the wealthy few.

• We can restore balance to our democracy and make sure that everyone’s voice is heard and every voice matters.

Download Democracy Narrative

Words to use in talking about democracy

Moving Americans to Action – A Message Guide for Democracy Advocates