Fighting for an Inclusive Democracy

American democracy is at a crossroads and the stakes could not be higher. To realize the promise of a representative and inclusive democracy, our electoral system must guarantee every American the right to vote, the power to participate, and elected leadership that is responsive to their constituents and communities, not just corporations and special interest groups. We need to put people and communities at the center of our democracy. 

More than a decade of attacks on voting rights and democratic participation—from Shelby County v. Holder enabling restrictive state voter ID laws, to Citizens United allowing partisan gerrymandering—have undermined the core principles of representative democracy. The Trump administration has further emboldened the longstanding conservative agenda to blunt the political power of ordinary citizens and the growing majority of communities of color and young voters. 

This decades-long strategic assault on majoritarian democracy, participation, and collective action has neutered the power of voters our democracy and made government less representative and less responsive to voters and communities.

To repair our broken system and build a truly people-powered democracy, CPD’s Voting Rights & Democracy Program is advancing democracy-expanding structural reforms that shift power to the people and defend the right to vote and participate at every level of government. Together with our state affiliates and national allies, we are building national momentum, as well as state and local leadership for power-shifting structural reforms such as the For the People Act (HR1), the Voting Rights Advancement Act (HR4), and other state and local reforms aimed at 

• Defending and expanding access to the ballot through innovative reforms like automatic voter registration, same-day registration, online voter registration and voter registration at local agencies and high schools, and by restoring the right to vote for the millions of Americans excluded from democratic participation by felony disenfranchisement laws;

• Strengthening the voice and power of voters in our elections by fixing our badly broken campaign finance rules with reforms like small-dollar public financing systems that create a broader, more diverse, small-dollar donor base, which enables diverse candidates to run and win competitive campaigns, amplifies the voices of people of color and low- and moderate-income communities, and diminishes the role of large, concentrated campaign contributions;

• Fighting for a fair count and representative districts by protecting a full and fair count in the 2020 Census, ensuring that redistricting maps are drawn to represent the interests and strength of communities and voters, and ending racial and partisan gerrymandering and incumbent protection practices; and 

• Deepening participation in our democracy and governance through participatory reforms and organizing efforts that authentically engage voters, communities, and political leaders to create real policy change at the local, state, and national level. 

To achieve these transformative goals, we develop innovative policy solutions that strengthen the right to vote, build power in communities, and expand participation in our democracy. We engage communities of color, immigrant communities, low-income communities, young people, and women to form a progressive coalition with the power to advance game-changing reforms that expand and deepen democratic participation.