A Manifesto for Fair and Equitable Elections
We at Better Elections Now! believe voting is the single most important thing a good citizen of democracy can do. Voting should be encouraged, not suppressed, Current voting laws and traditions, however, are not cohesive to this. So what's the solution?
01. Getting Everyone to the Polls
Our current voting process makes it difficult for certain demographics of people to vote. Those of lower income, those living in densely populated areas, and college students all have difficulty voting because of outdated traditions and new unconstitutional restrictions on the right to vote. Election day must be a national holiday to allow employed people to get to the polls. Voting booths must be provided proportional to a community's population. Mail in ballots should be legalized nationwide and voter ID laws must be rational.
02. Reinstating the Voting Rights Act
In 2013, the Supreme Court overruled an important subsection of the Voting Rights Act of 1695 in Shelby County v. Holder. Put simply, the original law had a provision flagging certain counties with a history of voting discrimination, and these counties required federal permission before passing voting laws. The court ruled that this law was "outdated" and thus unnecessary to maintain. On this ruling, Ruth Bader Ginsburg famously said “Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”
03. Rank Choice Voting
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Our current way of voting, in practice, practically mandates our two party system. Ranked choice voting better represents candidates that are most popular with voters. Want to know more about ranked choice voting?
04. Overturning Citizen's United
In 2010, the Citizens United ruling reversed centuries old restrictions on campaign financing. This ruling allows those for public office to receive unlimited amounts of financing from wealthy donors, special interest groups, and the like. Campaign spending on both sides has drastically increased since this ruling. Overturning Citizens United will allow our elected representatives to be answerable to their constituents, not to their corporate donors.
05. Solving Gerrymandering
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In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that "gerrymandering for party advantage cannot be challenged in federal court." Redistricting has increasingly become a process dominated by one party, and thus the results have become increasingly skewed. Gerrymandering flips the script: it empowers politicians to choose their voters, instead of the other way around.
06. Public Financing of Political Campaigns
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We support public financing of all federal and state campaigns. This would allow for some regulation in the matter and create a more even race for all candidates involved.