"For this Nation to remain true to its principles, we cannot allow any American's vote to be denied, diluted, or defiled. The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished." ― President Ronald Reagan

A healthy democracy requires constant re-imagining. In preparing for nearly every possible scenario for our new government, our (all white, all male) founders could not possibly imagine an electorate of 250 million people, spread across 3.7 million miles and the barriers to voting presented by these fundamental facts. They couldn’t imagine mail-in ballots, touch-screen voting machines, and hanging chads. They certainly couldn’t imagine a $3 billion presidential race or a $25 million Senate race (they also couldn’t imagine the direct election of Senators.)

If voting is indeed the “crown jewel of American liberties,” then our laws, systems, and processes ought to adapt to empower today’s people to participate in this most sacred civic duty.  

Fundamentally, this is about fairness – every citizen should have an equal voice and an equal say, and every voice should be heard and counted. But today, that is not the case.

It starts with barriers to voting. Since the enactment of the 15th Amendment, voter registration has been used to limit access. “A 2001 commission chaired by former presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford concluded, ‘The registration laws in the U.S. are among the most demanding in the democratic world … [and are] one reason why voter turnout in the U.S. is near the bottom of the developed world.’ That’s still true.” More recently, voter ID laws, restricting early voting, even the placement of polling locations have been used with similar intent and effect, to limit participation in voting.

"People marched and fought and died for the right to vote."

And these barriers don’t affect all of us equally. The biggest gaps in participation persist among the Latinx community, young voters, and Asian Americans. Those with low-income are also less likely to participate in our democracy. As the Pew Research Center found, “Financial security is strongly correlated with nearly every measure of political engagement.”

Even if people are able to overcome barriers to voting, many feel their vote is essentially canceled out by the vast amount of money put into politics from wealthy special interests. In the 2016 election, $2.3 billion of the $6.5 billion spent came from just 0.01% of the adult population. A system dominated by big money and special interests does not reflect the needs and concerns of everyday people. Clearly, our democracy is out of balance.

“Our democracy is not broken per se. It is working largely as intended by the people who designed it. And it is designed to give wealthier people more access. We can redesign it to be fair to all of us.”

David Donnelly
President
Every Voice

The sheer amount of money in politics isn’t just a disincentive for participation in voting. It is a disincentive for running for office. As a result, there are very few politicians who genuinely share most people’s perspectives or life experiences.

Voting and Elections

Our voting process doesn’t fit our lives today. It is still largely based around antiquated notions of voters who live in the same community their entire lives and work in 9-5 jobs that allow plenty of time to vote in person on Election Day.

But some states have cracked the code on empowering high levels of voter participation – notably Colorado and Minnesota, which see nearly 80% turnout on a regular basis. Why? They have modern, pro-voter laws that allow flexibility in registering to vote and casting a ballot. In Colorado, every voter receives a ballot in the mail. You can return that ballot via mail or turn it into a voting center during the early voting period. You can also register to vote on Election Day and vote in person.

There are several approaches that can make elections and voting more accessible for more Americans:

• Modernize registration. These include Automatic Voter Registration, pre-registration of 16-and 17-year olds, same day registration, and online registration. These reforms are showing success already: Oregon was the first state to implement automatic voter registration and saw the highest turnout in the state’s history in 2016. This reform could add 27 million people to the voter rolls.
• Flexibility in voting. In 2016, 41% of voters cast a ballot before Election Day; 37 states allow periods of early voting and 27 states have mail-in or no-excuse absentee voting. California is testing voting centers that serve as one-stop shops for registration and voting which eliminate polling place restrictions.
• Restore rights. Today 3.1 million Americans across 34 states are not allowed to vote even after they have completed their prison sentences and have returned to their communities to live, work, and raise families. This disproportionately disenfranchises Black men from voting. Small studies have shown reduced recidivism rates for those who vote and increased engagement in community activities.

Our support can empower coalitions working on the ground to pass, enact and defend these kinds of policies.

Money in Politics

We need to restore balance to our democracy so that it works not only for the wealthy but for ordinary Americans as well. Practical solutions like small-donor matching systems for funding elections can level the playing field, motivate people to participate in campaigns (whether running for office or simply voting), and make candidates listen to the voters, not just big donors. As Take Back Our Republic notes, “Empowering individuals to get involved is the best way to solve this problem.”

Source: Pew Research Center                                                

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC ruling (which held that free speech extends to corporations, labor unions, non-profit organizations, and associations in the form of political donations and thus cannot be regulated), the proven solution to big money in politics is small donor money. We must re-inject citizen participation into the process of funding campaigns, changing the incentives for candidates to engage lots of people rather than a few big donors.

There are several successful examples of small donor elections:

• Matching Funds: New York City and other cities and counties give candidates $6 in public funds for each $1 raised in small donations of $175 or less.
• Public Grants: In Arizona, Connecticut, and Maine, once candidates collect a designated number of $5 qualifying contributions from people in their district, they receive a grant for their campaign.
• Democracy Vouchers: Seattle sends four $25 vouchers to every voter, which they can give to any candidate who qualifies for the program. An analysis of Seattle’s program found, “Voucher-eligible races saw higher participation among those with incomes under $50,000 and had higher proportions of young donors than the non-voucher-eligible mayoral race...80% were new donors.”

States and cities are embracing innovations and experiments with pro-democracy reforms. This moment is ripe for philanthropic support to allow organizations to learn from pilot programs ― and each other ― to scale best practices.