John, our country is long past due for a government that looks like the people it serves.
Right now, the rules are rigged against ordinary people in favor of a select few. And the further you look up the ranks of the political class, the more exclusive this group is – with shockingly few people of color, women or working class people represented.
That disparity hurts all of us – because a government that doesn’t include people from all walks of life can’t effectively serve, listen to, or represent everyone. It’s a simple fact: the more voices in the room where decisions are made, the better policy we’ll get.
But this isn’t something that will happen overnight – or just by wishing it was so. That’s why I’m convinced that Common Cause must double down on our state-driven strategy to pass reforms that open up government for each one of us.
It starts by stopping un-American efforts to restrict voting rights, rig elections through gerrymandering, and sow distrust through election sabotage. Case in point was the unsuccessful attempt by Georgia partisans to block Sunday early voting in order to suppress the votes of many Black churchgoers in this month’s U.S. Senate runoff.
It means finally ending the scourge of gerrymandering – which was weaponized this year to deny Black and Latino voters full representation in states like Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Texas this year. In courts and at the ballot box, we are organizing to lift up the voices of people who have been politically silenced.
And it means being prepared to fight back and win in court – like we are in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Moore v. Harper, to block the dangerous scheme by the North Carolina legislature to demand the absolute power to write laws and make redistricting maps for federal elections – with no court oversight.
Already, we've presented arguments to the Supreme Court and rallied and organized the people to protect the most fundamental notion in American government – checks and balances that allow us to hold power accountable. Now, we’re making sure we’re prepared for any outcome when the Supreme Court hands down its decision in the new year.
But it’ll take more than playing defense – we also need ways to bring people in, and invite more first-time voters to the polls than ever in 2024. How? With reforms like Automatic Voter Registration, early voting and universal suffrage – already working in states across the country to boost turnout.
And, it means passing small-dollar public financing – which has enabled hundreds of candidates in places like Denver, Colorado and Montgomery County, Maryland to run for and win office without needing favors from, or connections to, wealthy donors.
John, we need to fight for an electoral system that gives all of us a fair shot at having our voices heard and understood. We need to work to end the corrosive influence of big money in politics so that our politicians are accountable first and foremost to us, not to the wealthy few. And we must continue to call out the lies and disinformation being used to unjustly limit access to the ballot box.
That’s the ONLY way we can build a democracy that works better for everyone – and one that is truly reflective of all of us.
I’m ready to fight for a more representative democracy. Are you in? If you are, please chip in your contribution of $3 or more today.
Those reforms and more will take a lot of hard work. But if we work together for what’s right, we can finally live up to the promise of our democratic values, and deliver a government that truly represents the people it serves.
Thanks for all you do,
Kathay Feng, Director of Redistricting & Representation
and the team at Common Cause
