“Democracy is not a fragile flower; still it needs cultivating.”

-- Ronald Reagan

We can empower people to vote and participate in civic life, but they need the underlying policies and processes to support their voices being heard. Our laws, systems, and processes must keep up with a changing electorate so that they support the exercise of civic duties, like voting, and not hinder them.

Why This Matters

Our traditional election and registration processes raise barriers for some communities disproportionately. People of color and the less affluent face a higher cost to vote, from taking time off work to paying for transport to their polling location, which reduces access to the polls for these communities. Young people are also negatively affected by the traditional voter registration process because they are highly transient. Rural voters face challenges such as long drives to polling locations, reliable internet access, and smaller election staffs and budgets.

Similarly, the ability for citizens’ to make their voice heard is impacted by redistricting laws in their states. In too many places, politicians are picking their voters more than voters are picking their elected representatives. While gerrymandering, or redistricting for partisan outcomes, has existed since our founding and practiced by both major parties, technology has enabled politicians to choose voters with surgical precision. In the 2012 elections (after the 2010 census and corresponding redistricting), fewer than 50 out of 435 congressional seats were deemed competitive. Coming on the heels of the U.S. Census in spring 2020, redistricting will remake the political maps for a decade.

The good news is that reforms to policies and processes in this space can correct disparities in access to voting while improving efficiency and increasing citizen participation in our democracy. And we know that investments in this space work! In the past two years:

Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Utah and Virginia all passed redistricting reforms with bi-partisan support.
Florida lifted a ban on voting by those with a felony criminal record (with some ongoing challenges to implementation).
In 2019, four additional states approved automatic voter registration; 21 states and the District of Columbia now have automatic voter registration, according to the Center for Secure & Modern Elections.
Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, Utah, and Washington all enacted same-day or Election Day registration, bringing the total to 21 states and the District of Columbia.

Battery Powered Grantees from our Healthy Democracy theme in 2018 have had key roles in many of these wins. Read the impact reports from Campaign Legal Center and Represent.Us to learn more about their work on these reforms.

Our Approach

Pro-Voter Reforms

States across the political spectrum have been adopting pro-voter reforms to expand voting rights, save taxpayer dollars, and secure elections from cyber threats. But a policy is only as good as its implementation. Technical experts like the Center for Secure & Modern Elections and the Center for Tech & Civic Life provide technical assistance to local and state election officials to ensure policies turn into practice.

We are interested in supporting reforms that have the best chance of increasing voter turnout, including:

Modernize registration. Reforms include Automatic Voter Registration, pre-registration of 16-and 17-year olds, same day or Election Day registration, and online voter registration. A report from Non-Profit Vote found that the six highest-ranking states for turnout in 2016 all offered same day voter registration and Oregon, the first state to implement automatic voter registration, saw the highest turnout increase of any state over 2012 – 4.1%. At least seven states will consider automatic voter registration reforms in 2020.
Flexibility in voting. In 2016, 1 in 3 voters cast a ballot before Election Day; 39 states and the District of Columbia allow periods of early voting; and 33 states have mail-in or no-excuse absentee voting while seven states and the District of Columbia have permanent absentee voting rolls. Expanding these options to additional states can ensure more people have the opportunity to cast a ballot.

Additionally, Ranked Choice Voting is a reform of interest. In ranked choice, or instant runoff voting, voters can rank as many candidates as they want in order of choice. This incentivizes candidates to seek first-choice as well as second and even third choice support and more fairly represents the majority of voters. Maine and New York City are the largest jurisdictions to use ranked choice voting but major cities like Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Minneapolis and St. Paul have also adopted it. Benefits of Ranked Choice Voting include majority support for a candidate, less negative campaigning, and reduced impact of money in politics.

Reform Redistricting

The purpose of reforming redistricting is to give people a stronger voice, foster accountability, and allow public support to translate into public policy. In other words, to create a government that is more reflective of and responsive to its citizens. In 2019, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Rucho v. Common Cause that handed questions of gerrymandering back to the states, essentially stating that such disputes are outside the scope of what the federal courts can decide. Thus, state laws and processes around redistricting become even more important as we head into the redistricting process taking place in 2020/21.

As the National Conference of State Legislatures notes, “Reformers often mistakenly assume that commissions will be less partisan than legislatures when conducting redistricting but that depends largely on the design of the board or commission…” Some successful commissions include:

California set the gold standard for independent redistricting commissions, starting in 2010. The Citizens Redistricting Commission is independent, comprised of 14 citizens who draw the maps to keep communities of interest together without regard to party preference.
Arizona has a five-person commission credited with creating more competitive districts at the federal and state level.

This FiveThirtyEight podcast explains how Arizona achieved more competitive districts with their independent redistricting commission, but it wasn't smooth sailing.

Many states will be implementing new redistricting processes for the first time in 2020/21. Michigan passed a ballot measure in 2018 to create a citizens redistricting commission. Colorado, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah also passed related reforms in 2018. Ensuring effective first time implementation is crucial. And yet more states may have new redistricting processes in place: in 2020, ballot measures on redistricting are likely in Arkansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Oregon; state legislatures in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are expected to take up redistricting reforms.

Philanthropy can play a key role to advance pro-voter reforms and reform redistricting. Some approaches include:

Supporting broad and diverse coalitions in states working on pro-voter reforms and redistricting reform, whether through legislative measures or ballot initiatives, to ensure that everyone’s voice is represented.
Philanthropy can also support the crucial work of implementing these reforms -- funding everything from technical assistance to security upgrades to expert panels to trainings.
Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania are all implementing pro-voter reforms for the first time heading into 2020. California will have full implementation of voting reforms, including county voter centers, statewide for the first time in 2020. Communicating with voters about these changes and training local election administrators remain top funding priorities.

Policy & Process

Why This Matters

Our Approach