Election Reformers Network aims to end partisan and insider control over elections. Favoring neither the left nor the right, we lead a U.S. movement to ensure that country comes first, not party.
Fair, functioning democracy is important
A range of powerful forces act together to make America an increasingly divided country. These influences are woven into the core elements of our life: from social media algorithms that incentivize anger, to 24-hour news cycles that retain viewers by amplifying a false dichotomy of far left and far right.
Even where and with whom people choose to live can become a political matter. No one person or side is to blame, but we have everything to lose if we don’t strengthen the core institutions of our nation to withstand this new polarizing reality.
Polarization is worsened by an archaic set of election rules left over from a bygone political era. We place parties in charge of everything from voting rules, to district lines, to election oversight. These practices overrepresent the extremes and discourage common ground.
Meanwhile, peer democracies have innovated, upgrading election systems to require impartiality, encourage compromise, reduce conflicts of interest, and sustain broad participation and trust. Evidence-based solutions exist; we only need the will to implement them.
Rising polarization colliding against outdated and hyper-partisan systems could soon lead to a complete breakdown in American democracy.
No system can ever be all things to all people, but we won’t make headway on any of the issues Americans care about until we move past polarization and operate within an impartial, trusted, fair governance system. America’s democratic republic relies on an election ecosystem that works – for today, tomorrow, and the next generation.
What’s new and noteworthy at ERN
Innovation is key to strengthening democracy and confronting contemporary political challenges, from hyper-partisanship and polarization to governmental gridlock and dysfunction. ERN's Kevin Johnson discusses how to improve our country’s political health and secure democratic governance for future generations.
The time is right for a whole new approach to the governance of elections in America. We have a system dominated by the two parties when most voters no longer affiliate with either. We have a structure that relies on political insiders putting “country before party” when the prevailing ethos has become “to the victor belong the spoils.”
Citizen-initiated ballot measures have emerged as a critical political battlefield in the United States. This groundbreaking report identifies the abuses by legislative and executive powers to the ballot initiative process and details remedies for partisan meddling.
The following text excerpts the key provisions of a proposed amendment to safeguard the citizens’ right to initiative in Missouri by establishing the Missouri Citizens’ Commission on Ballot Questions.
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Partisan oversight of elections and ballot measures can decrease voter confidence and fairness at risk. This short summary addresses control of ballot measures, politicization of secretaries of state, results certification, and party-dominated election boards.
Kevin Johnson and Alex Keyssar on the possibility of a tie in the Electoral College.
This tracker represents a portion of election litigation cases around the nation and currently focuses on battleground states. It will be expanded over time as additional cases are introduced, or existing ones are identified.
ERN in the media: One of the most important things to remember as we approach election day is that in 2020 our election institutions held, despite unprecedented threats, and they’ve been reinforced since.
