Electoral Reform

Abolish the Electoral College

The Electoral College made sense before the telegraph, when transferring results to Congress took weeks. It made sense during the Jim Crow era when Southern states had disproportionate representation and used the system to entrench segregationist policies. It does not make sense anymore — and the fake elector schemes of 2020 proved it is actively exploitable. The President of the United States should be elected by the people of the United States. One person, one vote.

Like Term Limits and Medical Privacy, full abolition requires a constitutional amendment — the same two-thirds-Congress, three-quarters-of-states threshold. But there's a genuinely achievable near-term mechanism that doesn't require amending the Constitution at all: the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. States retain their constitutional authority to decide how they award electors — they simply agree in advance to award them to the national popular-vote winner once enough states join to guarantee that outcome. As of mid-2026, 18 states and DC have joined, representing 222 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate it — Virginia's April 2026 signing was the most recent addition. Five states with a combined 61 electoral votes (Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin) would be enough to cross the threshold. This is the platform's actual near-term path — a constitutional amendment is the long-term goal, the Compact is how it actually happens sooner.

[NOTE: Every state that has joined the Compact so far has done so under Democratic governors, and legal challenges under the Compact Clause are likely if it nears activation — this isn't a clean, uncontested fix; it's a genuine near-term lever with real political and legal resistance built in.]

Redistricting Reform — Geometry Over Politics

Congressional districts can only be redrawn after the publication of Census data. Redistricting is influenced only by actual population counts — no reference to race, creed, religion, sex, or party registration is permitted. Districts must be drawn in simple geometric shapes or follow geographical features: rivers, mountains, and state boundaries. Maps are generated algorithmically from Census data as the primary drawing method, then certified by independent federal court review before taking effect. This removes the tools used to gerrymander rather than trying to regulate partisan intent. You cannot salamander a square.

Voter ID — Free, Including Everything Behind It

Voter ID is required, and the ID is free — including every document needed to get it. A 'free' ID that requires a $25 birth certificate (Washington's fee) is not free. A 2014 Harvard Law study estimated the cost of documents, travel, and waiting at $75–$175 per person. The Supreme Court struck down a $1.50 poll tax in Harper v. Virginia (1966), holding that no fee may be an electoral standard. It upheld Indiana's photo ID law in Crawford v. Marion County (2008) because the card itself was free, leaving the cost of underlying documents unresolved. This platform resolves it: the government that requires the ID pays for the card and the certified records behind it, through federal reimbursement to states for issuing free voter-qualifying ID and certified vital records to anyone requesting them to vote.

The same standard applies to documentary proof of citizenship. The SAVE America Act passed the House in February 2026 and is stalled in the Senate; if proof of citizenship is ever required, the documents that prove it are free. No cost barrier to voting. No access barrier. No excuse not to know who is casting which ballot.

[WHERE THIS STANDS: Washington votes by mail and verifies by signature. In Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs (2025), state election officials testified that ID-based verification has real drawbacks in a mail system — not every voter has ID, and many worry about identity theft — and a Washington ID requirement would face Article I, Section 19 review, where heavy burdens get strict scrutiny. There is no federal ID card; this replaces the earlier "free federal ID" language with reimbursement to states. Strongest counterargument: even free ID imposes time and travel costs that fall hardest on rural, elderly, and low-income voters; free documents reduce that burden but do not eliminate it.]

Voting Methods — State Autonomy

States choose how they conduct voting — ranked choice, top-two primaries, traditional methods, or other systems. Federal standards apply to structural integrity: how districts are drawn and how presidents are elected. The mechanics of how people actually cast their ballots is a state decision.