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Rising polarization colliding against outdated and hyper-partisan systems could soon lead to a complete breakdown in American democracy.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
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.
At a briefing hosted by ERN, experts shared that they expect quicker election results compared to 2020, despite a “lack of political will” from the General Assembly to improve the counting process. Former officials also pleaded with the media: “Be thoughtful about unintended consequences of election reporting.”
At a briefing hosted by ERN, experts spoke about some of the election vulnerabilities in Arizona including the risk of intimidation near polling places, election official turnover, and insufficient knowledge by voters about election procedures.
On September 24, 2:30 PM EST, this pre-election briefing on the Election Overtime project featured a release of new survey data, an overview of resources for journalists, presentations from members of our speakers’ bureau, and projections for priority races nationally. AUDIENCE: National and state reporters, interested members of the public.
November 5th is approaching fast, and ERN is hard at work helping reporters prepare to cover elections that “go into overtime.” Our Election Overtime project provides trusted speakers, litigation trackers, and comprehensive yet digestible briefs covering the key election rules in all swing states.
Visit electionovertime.org. for state-specific election law briefs, events, and other tools for understanding close and contested elections in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Voters pay more attention to election administration today that perhaps ever before. Recusal options should be available for election officials, and decisions about recusal – even when those decisions are not to recuse – should be made public in advance of the election.
The Utah Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that will likely restore the Independent Redistricting Commission and the prohibition on partisan gerrymandering approved by Utah voters in 2018.
Georgia's election board voted to grant the state’s county-level election boards new and unclear powers to conduct inquiries into elections before certifying the results. This decision gives a role in evaluating election results to boards composed mostly of political-party-affiliated members, whose work is not likely to be perceived as impartial.
ERN has designed a new, broadly representative state election board that will have authority over ballot initiatives, set election policy in line with state law, certify results, and nominate a nonpartisan professional chief election official.
