When Checks & Balances Break Down: How to Hold Power Accountable

‍

The Founders’ system of checks and balances is failing —  largely because it wasn’t designed to handle the power and entrenchment of modern political parties. Over time, the United States has adapted by introducing a new kind of safeguard: politically independent authorities that oversee critical government functions free from party interference. Examples include institutions like the Federal Reserve Board and independent redistricting commissions.

Today, these independent bodies are not only under threat — we urgently need more of them. In areas like election oversight and ballot measure management, political parties still wield too much control.

In this special briefing hosted by the Election Reformers Network, our research and legal teams covered:

• Democracy during duopoly control: Why the Founders’ system needs new ways of managing two-party dominance.
• Where new guardrails are needed: The extent of partisan control of election institutions, and the growing pressure of polarization.
• Designing a missing safeguard: Giving practical meaning to key concepts like independent, nonpartisan, and “referee.”‍
• Practical steps: What reforms are making progress and where.

The full presentation can be accessed here.