Amid all the speculation and introspection over what factors were decisive in the 2024 election, one thing is clear: More and more Americans sense that our democracy isn’t working or delivering for them. Trust in government is near historic lows, and nearly half of Americans say that democracy doesn’t do a good job representing them.
Our democratic system requires the faith of the people. So this loss of confidence in our system is dire. Americans across party and ideology see a Congress that seems unrepresentative of their communities and values and has become increasingly partisan, dysfunctional and unproductive. It’s easy for those of us in Congress to deflect blame or throw up their hands. But we have a responsibility to listen to the calls for change, take them seriously and offer reforms that can restore faith in our democracy.
Our proposals are rooted in the recognition that Americans share meaningful bonds of place, history and culture with our neighbors.
That’s why we have proposed several pieces of legislation to begin breaking down the barriers to good governance. These obstacles prioritize partisanship, stoke division and make it harder for members to work together on behalf of their constituents. Our proposals are rooted in the recognition that Americans share meaningful bonds of place, history and culture with our neighbors. We face the same daily challenges. But we are bombarded with partisan agendas that are engineered to drive us apart and drown out local concerns.
Effective representative governance requires members of Congress to bring those concerns to the forefront — because they’re the only ones who can. Look at the two of us: one uniquely attuned to the impacts of flooding in the Chehalis River Basin and sea lions on the Columbia River’s fish populations, the other to the importance of sled dog racing and post office closures in rural Maine.
But there are structural obstacles to that kind of old-fashioned place-based representation. For example: Increasingly extreme gerrymandering has made districts deeper red and blue. In the 2022 midterms, less than 10% of House races were competitive. Most incumbents fear a party primary more than the general election. This disincentivizes compromise and makes it easy for election winners to believe they have a lifetime tenure if they want it — a recipe for unaccountability.
If our politics is too disrespectful, unrepresentative and ideologically rigid to function, then the antidote must be a politics that is respectful, reflective and effective.
So how do we get there?
First, we must prioritize the voice of regular Americans in the policymaking process. Too many faraway “experts” make decisions that affect our livelihoods without adequate consideration for local realities. Congress needs to hear from fewer professional witnesses and from more folks who have to schedule a committee appearance around finding child care. Our BRIDGE to Congress Resolution would allow witnesses to appear remotely without requiring the committee chair’s approval. By expanding remote testimony, Congress can hear from more voices who don’t have the ability or resources to leave their families and their jobs to fly to D.C. for a day.
Our challenges will require thinking outside the box.
Speaking of broadening the range of perspectives, we should remove rules that penalize voters who identify as independent, a group that outnumbers both self-identified Republicans and Democrats. We can open primaries to independent voters, stopping the table from being set before independents have an opportunity to participate. Our states both successfully opened our primaries to unenrolled voters, and our bipartisan Let America Vote Act would do the same across the country.
Realistically, there’s not one easy trick to fix our electoral process. Our challenges will require thinking outside the box. So we introduced a resolution to establish a Select Committee on Electoral Reform to bring together an evenly split bipartisan group of lawmakers to study our electoral methods, conduct public hearings and submit recommendations to reduce polarization and strengthen our representative democracy’s effectiveness.
The committee will examine a series of reforms to improve our electoral system, such as independent redistricting commissions to push back against gerrymandering, instant-runoff voting (also known as “ranked choice voting”) to ensure an election winner represents a majority of voters, and multimember districts to increase proportional representation.
Finally, the committee would look at expanding the size of the House for the first time since the Great Depression. In the first Congress, the average House member represented roughly 57,000 people; today, that number stands at 768,000. Increasing the number of House seats would bring representatives closer to their communities and return local concerns to more prominence in Congress.
Our nation’s founders understood our democracy is a work in progress. By hearing from voices reflective of America and weighing the benefits of different approaches, we can forge consensus on a path forward. The outcome of this election provides an opportunity to embrace our American tradition of reform and build a bipartisan coalition that can get it done.
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