Restoring Voter Trust Project
The Problem
Alone among democracies, America gives partisan officials control of election governance, an outdated approach made more dangerous by polarization. Three interconnected problems ensue: voter distrust, risks of election manipulation, and entrenchment of duopoly party control. Partisan manipulation is particularly egregious in the management of ballot measures.
Americans can trust sports to be fair. In part because the teams don’t pick the referees. But in our elections, officials – chosen by political parties – run the process. In today’s hyper-partisan world, that can create conflicts of interest, distrust, and manipulation.
Our Solution
The Restoring Voter Trust Project will work with state-based coalitions to protect election governance from partisanship, based on the simple principle that competing teams should not referee their own contests. This proposal focuses on two practical innovations scalable across many states:
- Impartial chief election officials: America must ensure that chief election officials (typically secretaries of state) are selected and incentivized to act with neutrality. This requirement is achievable through changes in law driven by citizen-centered movements.
- Citizen commissions to manage ballot measures: We propose new entities modeled on independent redistricting commissions to take control of ballot measure processes, replacing partisan officials. This reform will“unrig” a dangerously flawed and politicized election process while also limiting legislative attacks on adopted measures.
Our Team
Our project requires deep knowledge of institutional structures, election law expertise, grassroots and grasstops facilitation, campaign management, a bipartisan “bully pulpit” drawing broad attention to the cause, and existing trusted relationships in targeted states. Our team, collectively, brings all that and more.
- Election Reformers Network
- The Carter Center
- The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
- Represent Us
- Respect Voters Coalition
