On March 1, FairVote hosted a webinar with four experts on what our democracy could look like in 2033. The panelists included Danielle Allen, a political theorist and Washington Post columnist; David Daley, best-selling journalist and FairVote Senior Fellow; Rey López-Calderón, activist and Strategic Advisor at More Equitable Democracy; and Anthony Eid, Michigan redistricting reformer and Independent Citizens Commission member.

The panel discussed the shortcomings of our current system and examples of successful changes from all around the country. With an increase in polarization, it is difficult to imagine a healthy democracy in ten years time without fundamental change. However, with election reform and a push for more comprehensive civic education, change is possible and it is happening now. 

Panelists Anthony Eid and Rey López-Calderón discussed the power of independent redistricting commissions that states like California, Michigan, and Virginia have established to prevent gerrymandering. Eid, who sits on the Michigan independent redistricting commission, put an emphasis on the effect of the structure of these commissions on encouraging collaboration. When a commission is designed to create cross-partisan outcomes, cooperation and compromise become necessary in the redistricting process. However, without proper guidelines and processes, there is still room for manipulation. For example, in Virginia, independent commissioners are nominated by legislators which brings a level of partisanship into the process. While independent redistricting commissions are a step in the right direction, they are not a foolproof solution to the problem of misrepresentation and underrepresentation.

Making sure that people have the ability to pick their politicians and not having politicians pick their people I think can be very transformative.

– Anthony Eid

Danielle Allen added that the Fair Representation Act (FRA) would eliminate the need for independent redistricting commissions because it is effectively “gerrymander-proof.” The FRA would establish multi-member congressional districts elected by ranked choice voting (RCV). The Our Common Purpose Report, which was authored by a cross-ideological commission, endorsed the FRA in 2020. 

[The FRA] gives voice and choice to all voters. So you get a greater diversity of choices in terms of the candidates who are available. And voters of a variety of different backgrounds have a much higher probability of seeing a person that they feel represented by coming out at the end of this process.

– Danielle Allen

All these reforms help maintain a fair election system that results in true representation of the American people. However, López-Calderón says that “what we’re going to see without fundamental changes is a regime that is very anti-minority.” Reforms like the FRA help increase minority representation and empower minority voters. Eid pointed out how minority voters may feel they have to rally around one candidate because if they split their vote among several, a candidate they dislike would be elected. RCV addresses this problem, removing the pressure from voters and allowing them to vote their conscience. Voters can rank their favorite candidate first without worrying about splitting the vote. In this way, RCV benefits both voters and candidates of color.

There’s a growing body of evidence that ranked choice voting combined with single transferable vote does get to a lot of the outcomes, particularly in representation for people of color.

– Rey López-Calderón

The webinar ended with a discussion of civic education. How do we make sure Americans are informed and equipped with the knowledge to fully participate in democratic processes? Allen mentioned the Educating for American Democracy Report (funded by both the Trump and Biden administrations), which presents a roadmap for increasing civic education for all. These cross-partisan initiatives demonstrate the feasibility of all the positive changes we could make to increase equitability in America. 

Especially in combination with reforms like RCV, better civic education across the country will help create a more representative government. With knowledge, people are empowered to get involved in the democratic process. With voting reforms, the democratic process is more equitable. Our democracy becomes more powerful when more people participate and our processes are fairer. 

Improving our election system is important to everyone, regardless of party affiliation or ideology. There are tried and true methods that can help us achieve proportional representation, preserve the idea of “one person, one vote,” and empower voters with civic knowledge.

Change has to come from within communities themselves. They can come up with the best solutions to solve the problems they have and create the type of democracy that would serve them best. On a national level, this may be the Fair Representation Act. On a state level, it may look like Maine or Alaska’s use of ranked choice voting. On a local level, this may include a proportional form of ranked choice voting that was just adopted in Portland, Oregon. 

There are changemakers all over the country, and in your community too. To learn more about how to bring ranked choice voting, proportional representation, and other nonpartisan voting reforms to your community, click here.