Back in February, I wrote you a long email introducing my bill package, A Common Sense Vision for American Democracy.

It’s a collection of reform bills that would address some of the major design flaws in our political system; the defects that prevent our democracy from working as intended.

Now, it’s obvious that my bill hasn’t become law (yet). But I’m sticking with this fight in 2024.

That’s why, 11 months later, I’d like to re-introduce A Common Sense Vision for American Democracy , and tell you why it matters so much.

If you’re already on board, will you invest $25 in my campaign to ensure I can keep fighting for a stronger democracy? [[link removed]]

Donate [[link removed]]

Why won’t Congress enact policies that the majority of Americans support?

I hear that question a lot – especially when it comes to broadly popular policies like universal background checks, abortion rights, clean energy, and paid family leave.

Now, a lot of folks blame corruption or gerrymandering or incompetence. But the real problem is that our political system works against the majority of Americans by design.

There are three main institutions that stand in the way of the popular will: The Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Electoral College.

First, let’s discuss the Senate.
The Senate was designed with a “small-state bias.” Today, it puts Democrats – and popular Democratic policies – at a remarkable disadvantage in the Senate.

During the 2018 midterms, Democrats won close to 18 million more votes for the Senate than Republicans, and Republicans still gained two seats.

I’ve proposed a constitutional amendment that would add 12 at-large senators to be elected by national popular vote – striking a truly democratic balance between small-state representation and majority rule.

Next, the Supreme Court.
While in the Senate majority, Republicans appointed several handpicked far-right justices to the Supreme Court.

In turn, those justices constantly put the interests of the far right above all else: crushing popular legislation, protecting political allies, attacking basic human rights, weakening regulations, and generally dismantling progress of all kinds.

Unsurprisingly, the Supreme Court’s reputation and legitimacy are in tatters.

My bill proposes a brand-new court to handle most cases involving the federal government, made up of 13 justices selected randomly from across the nation. In other words, a court that would prioritize integrity over ideology.

Finally, the Electoral College:
There have been six elections since 2000, and Democrats won the presidential popular vote in five of them. According to all logic, reason, and math, Republicans should have won only once.

Nope – they’ve won three times . All thanks to the Electoral College.

In a democracy, the candidate who wins the most votes should win the election, but the Electoral College makes that impossible.

The Electoral College suffers from the same small-state bias as the Senate, so here's my proposal: We can fix the imbalance by increasing the number of electors from the most populous states, as well as adding 12 electors who must vote for the winner of the national popular vote.

Voila, a proper democratic election!

Trust me, I know this is ambitious. But we miss 100% of the shots we don’t take, so I’m asking you to pitch in $$25 before our End-of-Year FEC filing deadline to make this vision a reality. [[link removed]]

Donate [[link removed]]

– Sean Casten
PAID FOR BY CASTEN FOR CONGRESS
Casten for Congress
P.O. Box 132
Downers Grove, IL 60515-0132
United States
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