Our Agenda

We see four key pillars to making our democracy work for everyone: 1) Protecting voters and elections from COVID-19; 2) Ensuring full participation in democratic processes; 3) Empowering workers and civic organizations; 4) Rooting out corruption and special interests. Taken together, this package of reforms will have a significant impact on our democracy and restore power to the American people.

H.R.1 is a strong starting point with a crucial set of reforms to expand voting rights, create independent redistricting commissions, strengthen ethics rules, create a small-donor public financing system, and limit the influence of corporations and wealthy special interests in campaigns. In addition, we are focused on building support for a suite of policies that reflect an expanded lens on the kinds of structural reforms that will rebalance our system to empower working families and people of color.

I. PROTECT VOTERS AND ELECTIONS FROM COVID-19

HEROES Act. No one should have to choose between public health and democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic. But states don’t have the resources they need to adapt to the current environment. They need federal support now. The Senate must pass the HEROES Act for states to get the $4 billion they need to expand vote-by-mail, have safe (and early) in-person voting, and online/same-day registration.

II: FULL PARTICIPATION 

Washington, D.C. statehood. More than 700,000 American citizens residing in Washington, D.C. lack meaningful representation at the federal level. To achieve statehood, Congress should pass a law establishing the new state (under Art. IV Sec. III Cl. I), while carving out a small enclave of federal office buildings and the White House that would still be considered “the District” for constitutional purposes. This proposal is included in the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51, S.631). 

Automatic and same-day voter registration for federal elections (AVR and SDR). America’s cumbersome 50-state approach to voter registration has made it difficult for many eligible citizens to exercise their right to vote. Through AVR, eligible citizens are automatically registered to vote using voter eligibility information that the government already receives, unless they opt out. With SDR, voters can register and vote at the same time, either through early voting or on Election Day (sometimes separately called Election Day Registration or EDR). Both AVR and SDR are included in the We the People Act (H.R. 1 & S.949). 

Prohibit voter ID laws. Voter ID laws are a form of voter suppression that disproportionately impact people of color, low-income Americans, young people, and the elderly. Suppressive voter ID requirements should be banned for federal elections. A version of this policy is included in the We the People Act. 

Redistricting reform. Currently, districts in most states are heavily gerrymandered. This results in the under-representation of communities of color, and congressional districts that benefit the political parties that drew them, not the will of voters. Federal law should require these districts to be drawn by independent commissions—rather than incumbent legislators—according to a set of criteria that ensure fairness. The We the People Act requires all federal districts to be drawn by independent commissions. 

Puerto Rican self-determination. Puerto Rico has 3.4 million American citizens. The people of Puerto Rico should determine for themselves the future status of the island, and Congress should pass legislation that would make such a determination binding. 

Remove barriers to naturalization. About 9 million people in the United States have green cards and are eligible for citizenship but have not yet applied. Many are overwhelmed by the process or dissuaded by the cost. But a few relatively simple steps would help incentivize more citizen-eligible people to become members of our political community and streamline the citizenship process. Examples include eliminating or reducing the $700 fee, providing pre-filled forms, and providing additional funds for legal services. 

Advancing voting rights. By restoring and updating the Voting Rights Act, Congress could prevent jurisdictions with histories of discriminatory election practices from implementing voting rules that disenfranchise historically underrepresented communities. The Supreme Court struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, finding that the coverage formula was outdated. 

The Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4/S.561) would update the formula and require the covered jurisdictions to clear any new voting changes with the Justice Department. 

III: EMPOWER WORKERS AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS 

Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act. Under current federal law, public sector workers are excluded from the protections of the National Labor Relations Act, and lack the freedom to join in unions or collectively bargain for better pay, hours, and working conditions. Many states also lack any protections for the rights of public sector workers. 

The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act (H.R. 3463/S. 1970) would ensure that public employees have collective bargaining rights, including the rights to: join a union selected by a majority of employees; collectively bargain for fair pay and working conditions; utilize voluntary payroll deduction for union dues, access dispute resolution mechanisms; and file suit in court to enforce their labor rights. 

Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Unions help working people to earn decent pay and benefits, and to have a voice in our democracy. But workers’ rights have been eroded by decades of attacks by special interests and decision-makers in Congress, state legislatures, and the courts. 

The PRO Act (H.R. 2474, S. 1306) is a sweeping bill that would help to restore the rights of workers by: making it easier to organize a union and take collective action; updating basic workplace rules and job protections; ensuring timely collective bargaining agreements after unions are first created; overriding “right-to-work” laws; and helping working people get a fair recovery when companies violate their rights. 

IV: ROOT OUT CORRUPTION AND LIMIT SPECIAL INTERESTS 

Public finance matching program. Right now, most U.S. campaign funding comes from a small number of big donors who have inordinate influence over the political process. Publicly financed elections would make elected officials less beholden to wealthy interests, and more likely to support policies favored by the general public. A government matching program could be established for small contributions, like the program in the We the People Act, which matches small-donor contributions up to $200 at a rate of 6-to-1. This allows candidates to run competitive races without relying on big donors. 

The We the People Act also includes a multi-state pilot version of Seattle’s promising “Democracy Voucher” program, which provides each resident a $100 “democracy dollars” voucher that they can contribute to candidates—allowing even people without disposable income to participate in the funding of campaigns. 

Reform the Federal Election Commission. The Federal Election Commission has become “worse than dysfunctional,” rarely enforcing campaign finance laws, even in the face of clear evidence. Much of this dysfunction is attributable to the structure of the Commission. Six commissioners can serve on the FEC at one time, and no more than three may be from the same political party. 

The Commission would be more functional with an odd number of Commissioners, and more streamlined processes for making routine decisions. The We the People Act contains a proposal to replace the FEC with a five-member commission with a more streamlined enforcement process. 

Ensure transparency for all political spending. Current law, along with deeply flawed FEC regulations, allow for substantial amounts of campaign-related spending to be reported without any donor information, or to be entirely hidden from public view, creating a secret avenue for special-interest influence. The We the People Act would substantially strengthen rules that require disclosure of political spending. 

Note: Democracy for All 2021 coalition partners and allies’ endorsement of these policies is an indication of solidarity within our movement and a recognition of their urgency. Endorsement does not necessarily mean that organizations have expertise on or are actively working towards every priority or policy listed