How do we democratize American democracy?  We need long-overdue constitutional and electoral reforms to align the U.S. with other established democracies. These reforms aim to dismantle spheres of undue minority protection and empower majorities at all levels of government, thereby unleashing real political competition and making politicians more responsive to the majority of Americans. The remedies fall into three broad areas:

1. Uphold the Right to Vote:

• Automatic and Universal Voter Registration: Making voter registration automatic and universal would expand participation.

• Federal Statutory Right to Vote: Enacting a federal statutory right to vote is essential for modern democracy.

• Expanded Early and Mail-in Voting: Expanding options for early and mail-in voting would make it easier for all Americans to cast ballots.

• Election Day as a National Holiday: Designating Election Day as a Sunday or national holiday would prevent work responsibilities from deterring voting.

• Restoration of Ex-Felon Voting Rights: Restore voting rights to all ex-felons who have served their time, without additional fines or fees.

• National-Level Voting Rights Protections: Reinstate federal oversight of election rules and administration, drawing inspiration from the 1965 Voting Rights Act or the 1890 Lodge bill, which could apply to states with a history of violations or to all jurisdictions equally.

• Nonpartisan Electoral Administration: Replace the current partisan system with one managed by professional, nonpartisan officials to ensure fairness in voter rolls, polling place access, and vote counting.

2. Election Outcomes need to reflect majority preferences:

• Abolish the Electoral College: Replace the Electoral College with a national popular vote, as no other presidential democracy permits the popular vote loser to win the presidency.

• Proportional Senate Representation: Reform the Senate to make the number of senators per state more proportional to its population, similar to Germany, while acknowledging the significant constitutional barriers (Article V).

• Eliminate the Senate Filibuster: Eliminate the Senate filibuster for regular legislation and judicial nominations, which currently allows legislative minorities to thwart majorities.

• Eliminate Partisan Gerrymandering: Implement independent redistricting commissions, as seen in California, Colorado, and Michigan.

• Expand the House of Representatives: Update the Apportionment Act of 1929 to allow the House to expand in line with population growth, bringing representatives closer to the people.

• Proportional Representation in Federal Elections: Replace "first-past-the-post" plurality elections for federal offices with a system of proportional representation, such as multi-member districts or ranked-choice voting.

    3. Protect Individual and Minority Rights / Adapt Constitutional Institutions:

Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices: Establish term limits (e.g., twelve or eighteen years) for Supreme Court justices to regularize appointments, ensuring every president has an equal number of appointments per term and limiting "inter-generational counter-majoritarianism". This would bring the U.S. in line with other major democracies.

Easier Constitutional Amendment Process: Make it easier to amend the Constitution by removing the requirement for three-quarters of state legislatures to ratify amendments, instead requiring two-thirds super-majorities in both the House and Senate, mirroring many other established democracies.