Elections

Implement Clean Elections

Until we are able to run fair and clean elections, we will face barriers to the transformative change we seek.

We must drastically reduce the amount of dark money in our political system, empower small-dollar donors, and move towards publicly-funded elections.

  • Over $6.4 billion was spent on the 2016 election—including $2.4 on the presidential election alone
  • In 2012, Super PACs accounted for 11 percent ($820 million) of total campaign spending nationally. In 2016 ($1.8 billion) that number grew to over 20 percent

 

Vision and policy priorities

Get dark money out of politics

In recent elections, billions of dollars has funneled into our elections. Wealthy Americans are able to spend an unlimited amount of money with little transparency by donating to Super PACs. We must take back our democracy.

  • Overturn Citizens United and eliminate Super PACS
  • Prevent criminal corporations from influencing our government by prohibiting them from making political contributions after being convicted of fraud
  • Strengthen laws regulating those who lobby on behalf of foreign governments and ban lobbying on behalf of countries with human rights violations
  • Increase transparency in campaign finance reporting, so wealthy and corporate donors must disclose where their money is going
  • Push the Securities and Exchange Commission to require publicly-traded companies to disclose their political contributions
  • Allow for candidates to receive matching public funds for small-dollar donations

 

Strengthen voting rights

Republicans in Congress want to undo the gains of the Civil Rights Movement. We must protect the Voting Rights Act and work to make our elections more accessible to all.

  • Restore voting rights to felons nationwide
  • Protect the Voting Rights Act
  • Expand federal funding for early in-person voting and absentee voting
  • Make Election Day a national holiday
  • Automatically register every 18-year old to vote
  • Ensure states and localities are providing an adequate availability of polling places