A unique opportunity to fix our democracy
There are many complex policy problems that the U.S. urgently needs to address, from tackling the existential threat of climate change to improving access to health care. But there’s one overarching obstacle standing in the way: legislative gridlock, money in politics and special interests blocking meaningful reform.
That could change if our federal lawmakers pass the For The People Act, the most impactful anticorruption and pro-voter legislation in 50 years. Among other worthy reforms, the bill would ban gerrymandering, improve voter access, and curb the influence of billionaires and Super PACs on our elections. The For The People Act has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and now needs to get through the Senate before President Biden can sign it into law.
According to many recent polls, The For The People Act has overwhelming bipartisan support among voters, despite all the partisan noise in Washington, D.C. This is true in both “red” states and “blue” states, and among Trump voters and Biden voters. When you consider the measures in the bill, it’s not hard to see why. We all want voting to be easy, accessible and secure; we want politicians to represent us, not just wealthy and powerful people and PACs; and we want our government to function.
So why hasn’t it passed? Why are some legislators reluctant to carry out the will of the people?
Because the For The People Act threatens to upend the political system that has allowed dark money and special interests to pick and choose our country’s legislative agenda and secured politicians their seats in Congress.
Americans feel like the system is rigged against them. This level of distrust makes us vulnerable to conspiracy theories and suspicious of our leaders, science and facts. Our election system and the checks and balances to assure a peaceful transfer of power barely held, by a thread, just four months ago. As we grapple with tackling so many of the pressing issues of our day, it can be hard to prioritize esoteric and intractable-seeming causes like campaign finance reform and anti-corruption.
But prioritize it we must, for it is the broken political system that is making it impossible to advance on other issues. Imposing reform on our political process is not easy.
Direct democracy efforts around the country in the form of voter ballot initiatives can be powerful tools of reform. For example, in 2018 Florida voters passed an amendment to their state constitution restoring voting rights to those barred from voting due to a previous felony. Likewise, voters in Alaska, Oregon, Virginia and Colorado have used ballot initiatives to pass anti-gerrymandering, campaign finance, anti-corruption and embracing ranked-choice voting in recent years. Ballot measures are well suited to passing such laws which restrict the very politicians who stonewall them. However, ballot initiatives are also by their nature blunt force approaches — not well suited to solving complex public policy issues and therefore best used as a last resort when legislators won’t do the will of the people.
Most Eastern states, including Connecticut, didn’t benefit from the Progressive Era reform measures in the late 1800s that swept direct democracy measures into Western states’ constitutions. (Eastern states, concerned about the votes of immigrants in the Northern cities and freed slaves in the South, were less willing to institute measures that did the will of the masses.) So, we have to make our voices heard on why it is important to prioritize and pass the For The People Act, and shine the light on the real reasons why this bill is struggling to advance through Congress.
Connecticut’s own senators, Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, have already signaled they support the For The People Act. That’s great news, but we have to make it clear to them that this bill is a priority, and we can’t afford to fail. Sen. Chris Murphy said it best when he called the For The People Act “a down payment on better government.” I hope Connecticut voters will join me in making our voices heard that this bill should be a priority, and that it’s something worth spending political capital on.
As we grapple with tackling so many issues, it can be hard to prioritize causes like campaign finance reform and anti-corruption.