The Independent View: The Citizen Equality Act

The Citizen Equality Act (CEA), as first described by Presidential candidate Larry Lessig, addresses three common sense reforms to fixing our broken Congress.

Citizen Funded Elections
By definition, our current system of privately funded elections requires that candidates for office meet the criteria of private interests first. Without infringing on the freedom of speech, what reforms will ensure that any qualified candidate can run for Congress and be dependent upon citizens alone? Core reforms include those in the Government by the People Act and the American Anti-Corruption Act, which provide small voter tax rebates that create the option for citizen funded elections and include measures to curb the influence of lobbying.

Equal Representation
The combination of gerrymandering and winner-take-all voting means that there are Democrats in red states and Republicans in blue states without a single representative they can go to. Independents and minor parties have little to no representation at all. What reforms will ensure that the representation of our diverse nation is more equal in Congress? The Ranked Choice Voting Act sponsored by FairVote is based on proven methods for ending political gerrymandering, including multi-member districts and allowing voters to rank all candidates in order of preference.

MD: We should also look at Approval Voting.

Equal Right to Vote
Voting is a right for U.S. citizens alone, but it should not be unfairly restrictive. What reforms will provide all U.S. citizens with an equal opportunity to cast their votes on election day? Core reforms include:

- Automatic registration and verification
- Making elections a national holiday
- Prohibiting procedures that enable fraud and intimidation
- Protections for marginalized communities like those proposed in the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 and the Voter Empowerment Act of 2015.

MD: We also have to open the ability to get on the ballot for potential candidates and give voters a choice so they come out and vote, instead of today's "Voter Self-Suppression".

For each reform, Lessig needs your help in determining which reforms provide the most effective and lasting solutions.

CLICK HERE to join the effort to create the first crowd-sourced legislation in our nation's history, because no other reform is possible until we address these three issues.