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# America’s Democracy Is Cracking. The Revolution to Rebuild It Has Already Begun.
- URL: https://ivn.us/americas-democracy-is-cracking-the-revolution-to-rebuild-it-has-already-begun/
- Published: 2026-08-18T15:40:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-18T17:07:32.000Z
- Description: From a national popular vote and ranked choice voting to proportional representation, court reform and a constitutional right to vote, Rob Richie argues the next era of American democracy will require rewriting the rules.
- Author: Rob Richie
- Tags: Election Reform, Ranked Choice Voting, Campaign Finance

*Editor's Note: This commentary* [*originally published*](https://expanddem.substack.com/p/a-coming-revolution-in-american-democracy?utm%5Fsource=post-email-title&publication%5Fid=3699055&post%5Fid=209916216&utm%5Fcampaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=57ya8c&triedRedirect=true&utm%5Fmedium=email) *on the Expand Democracy Substack and was republished on IVN by request and with permission from the author.*

Americans’ celebration of 250 years of independence invites reflection on the Declaration of Independence and its values of equality, liberty, and democratic renewal. Those values are a beacon to guide where our nation must go to live up to its promise.

We have work to do. Democracy is under profound stress. 20th century rules and norms are straining under 21st century realities: increasing polarization, weakening media, rising economic inequality, and loss of trust in political parties and governing institutions. Americans have elected a president ready to push the boundaries of autocracy and kleptocracy.

But out of the ashes comes hope. Our nation has seen major advances for democracy in the wake of the Civil War, the Progressive Era, and the 1960’s. Sustaining American democracy depends on a new wave of major change that speaks to the moment. Here’s a rundown of what is within reach.

**Presidential elections by popular vote** *:* Having electors pick the president after being chosen in winner-take-all elections in states is indefensible in a modern democracy. Those rules led presidential campaigns in 2024 to spend more than a billion dollars to influence voters in just a handful of swing states, sidelining everyone else, and allowed Donald Trump to win in 2016 despite decisively losing the popular vote.

Enabled by state powers protected in the Constitution, the [National Popular Vote interstate compact](http://nationalpopularvote.com/?ref=ivn.us) could overthrow this system as soon as 2028\. States passing the compact agree to award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote in all 50 states and DC. When activated, the popular vote winner is guaranteed to win the White House.  
  
To provide that guarantee, the compact must become law in states that collectively hold an Electoral College majority of 270 votes. [Representing 222 electoral votes](http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/?ref=ivn.us), 18 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact, most recently in Virginia. After this November’s elections, several new states may be ready to adopt the compact and provide the 48 electoral votes necessary to activate it including Arizona, Michigan, Nevada Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The biggest change in our elections since the Voting Rights Act is within reach.

***Ranked choice voting:*** [Ranked choice voting ](https://fairvote.org/our-reforms/ranked-choice-voting-information/?ref=ivn.us#where-is-ranked-choice-voting-used)(RCV) has moved from an exciting idea to deciding presidential elections in Alaska, Maine and Washington, D.C. and electing governors, Members of Congress, and leaders of major cities. RCV clearly provides fairer outcomes for voters, who in exit surveys [show consistent support.](https://fairvote.org/report/exit-surveys-report-2025/?ref=ivn.us) Allowing voters to rank candidates in order of choice upholding majority rule by eliminating the “spoiler” effect, and enabling meaningful consideration of independents and minor parties.

Major scaling of RCV depends on having election mechanics that make RCV a “turnkey” option – that is, election official being able to run RCV elections as quickly, easily, and transparently as non-RCV elections. Technology is no barrier to that goal; rather, it comes down to political will.

Expect at least three cities to add to the streak of more than 30 straight wins for RCV on city ballots, and ongoing proof of concept in practice. With voters under 50 overwhelmingly in support of RCV, we could see Congress act to remove administrative barriers to RCV in 2029, unlocking progress toward general reimagining voting as ranking.

***Proportional representation for Congress and states***: Our winner-take-all congressional elections are failing spectacularly. Bunkered down in their geographic strongholds, the two parties grow increasingly polarized in a “doom loop” of action and reaction, making the compromises necessary in our federal system increasingly difficult. Voters are deeply skeptical of Congress but feel trapped into picking the lesser of two evils. Women remain poorly represented.

This past year, conditions grew far worse. First, Republicans broke the norm against mid- decennial redistricting, triggering a race to gerrymander states that makes voters mere pawns in partisan warfare and results in even fewer competitive districts. The Supreme Court then eviscerated the Voting Rights Act, one of the crown jewels of the civil rights era, by making it nearly impossible to require creation of opportunities for racial minorities to elect candidates of their choice even when experiencing electoral discrimination. Several southern states already have received the Court’s blessing to redraw districts that will gut racial minority representation in their states.

Systems of proportional representation (PR) could address all these problems. The norm in most of our peer democracies, PR systems are based on the principle that like-minded voters should elect candidates in proportion to their share of the vote. PR is already used locally in the United States, including in Portland (OR), and has a long history of success as a Voting Rights Act remedy. Congress by statute could adopt forms of PR for congressional elections within states that would open up every corner of the country to healthy multi-party competition and shared representation.

Groups like FairVote, Protect Democracy, New America, More Equitable Democracy, and RepresentWomen are leading an energized conversation for change. The [PR Hub ](https://representation.vote/?ref=ivn.us)has formed with a treasure chest of more than $60 million to support change in the states. Congressman Jamie Raskin, who helped persuade the Progressive Caucus to endorse the [Fair Representation Act ](http://www.fairrepresentation.com/?ref=ivn.us)to require all states to enact proportional form of RCV, [reports](https://newrepublic.com/article/211774/coming-census-time-bomb?ref=ivn.us) that his colleagues are eager to learn more.

To become viable nationally, one key question must be answered: whether candidate-based systems such as proportional RCV or European-style party-based systems are more likely to earn support from legislators and voters. But the movement for PR is in a whole new place of hope – and the nation in a whole new set of need.

**Supreme Court reform, the Senate filibuster, a constitutional right to vote, new states, and overturning Citizens United:** Claiming our democracy will require drawing from the more than 100 ideas featured in Expand Democracy’s newsletters \[LINK..} I’ll close with thumbnails about particular areas of promise.

The Supreme Court has been hijacked by a radical majority that has centralized its power, overturned precedents, and blessed the president assuming vast powers with weakened congressional oversight and immunity from prosecution. Expect Congress to propose Supreme Court term limits and ethics reform and pass statutes or constitutional amendments to overturn particularly egregious Court decisions.

Court reform and other pro-democracy federal legislation will quite a reformed U.S. Senate. Sen. [Jeff Merkley has laid out a smart path](https://www.brennancenter.org/events/senator-jeff-merkley-how-fix-filibuster?ref=ivn.us) toward reforming the filibuster so that the biggest Senate priorities could be passed by majority vote. To create a more diverse Senate and uphold voting rights, campaigns for Congress to provide statehood for Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are [gathering steam](https://freedcproject.org/principles?ref=ivn.us).

Always a source of inequality, money in politics has grown exponentially more problematic in the wake of Supreme Court opinions gutting campaign finance reform. Yet with the support of [American Promise](https://americanpromise.net/?ref=ivn.us), an impressive mix of 25 states has endorsed a constitutional amendment to enable states to regulate campaign spending, bringing it closer to the 38 needed to pass a constitutional amendment. Shorter-term, a new state campaign to use state power over corporate charters to take on dark money will be [tested on the ballot in Montana](https://montanaplan.org/?ref=ivn.us) this November.

The right to vote itself has seen great expansion over the past 250 years. Look for congressional action and associated state and local actions to restore the Voting Rights Act, protect voter access, and facilitate innovations in how we cast ballots, learn about our candidates, and participate in government.

Such progress is not inevitable, but is within reach. [Expand Democracy](https://expanddemocracy.org/?ref=ivn.us) will be highlighting ways you can be a part of the change.