Introducing Expand Democracy

My new organization will promote pro-democracy ideas by helping others succeed

Today helped launch a new organization: Expand Democracy.

When my colleague Eveline Dowling, board chair Lan Nguyen and wife Cynthia Richie Terrell settled on our organization’s name, I didn't fully appreciate the significance it would have in this time of challenge to the norms of how our government makes decisions. In a full-fledged democracy, achieving your desired ends do not justify undemocratic means. As a Quaker committed to the value of respecting every voice, I draw inspiration from voices of the past.

In 1902, Jane Addams wrote that “the cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy.” In 1938, on the precipice of World War II, Franklin Roosevelt wrote that “I venture the challenging statement that if American democracy ceases to move forward as a living force, seeking day and night by peaceful means to better the lot of citizens, fascism will grow in strength in our land.” My fellow reform champion, Congressman Jamie Raskin, likes to cite De Tocqueville in making the case that “democracy is either expanding or it’s shrinking.”

Martin Luther King said on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, “Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.” Fundamentally, commitment to democracy comes with ongoing attention to how to make it real as times change. Striving toward “a more perfect union” is never complete.

It’s been a year and a half since I announced that I would step down as head of FairVote after 31 years as its CEO. I couldn’t be more pleased with the resulting succession process. The FairVote board showed great leadership, the staff evidenced resilience and quality work, and new CEO Meredith Sumpter has proven to be a dynamic and effective leader.

I have the pleasure to support FairVote as a Senior Advisor and support other groups seeking to improve our elections. At the same time. I’ve pulled back from the hectic pace that governed my life for decades to enjoy my personal passions, whether that’s attending plays, travelling with family, or taking the first steps toward hiking the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.

But the state of our democracy and the capacity of pro–democracy allies remains deeply important to me. That’s where Expand Democracy comes in. Eveline and I do not intend to duplicate or supplant any existing organization. What will make us successful is helping others be successful. Our most impactful projects will be ones where Expand Democracy’s role ends as others begin. We seek to catalyze consideration of promising, but generally overlooked ideas and strategies - often ones involving thinking outside the box with bold, creative approaches.

While fervently supporting causes I’ve long cared about - whether it’s FairVote advancing ranked choice voting, National Popular Vote seeking to make every vote equal in presidential elections or Vote16USA leading efforts to have the United States join the international movement toward a commonsense voting age – I’m particularly excited about catalyzing new ideas into action through convenings, communications and catalytic funding.

At FairVote, I was able to help spark a number of pro-democracy changes that were new at the time. We identified American ways to move toward automatic voter registration, and catalyzed action that led to more than 20 states lowering their voter registration to 16. Our Promote Our Vote project highlighted new ways that cities could engage their voters, while we worked with Congressman Don Beyer to introduce the Fair Representation Act as the ideal way to live up to the ideal of government of, by and for the people. We partnered with the Bipartisan Policy Center to spotlight ways legislatures can increase internal democracy and collaboration.

Looking forward, we will connect people with ideas that deserve more attention, with regular gatherings to showcase what may be next for our democracy. We’ll bring stakeholders together for a time bound series of meetings to resolve thorny puzzles that could be a barrier to change - whether it’s the best wording for pro-democracy constitutional amendments or legal strategies to keep promising ideas on track. We’ll work with retired election officials ready to offer advice on how to make good ideas in theory workable in practice. Eveline and I will regularly seize opportunities to write and speak about democracy, and work constructively with academic scholars as they study and write about electoral reform.

I’m thrilled to be able to work with Eveline and a terrific new Board of Directors. Expand Democracy’s needs will be relatively modest, although we hope to help groups working to scale good ideas. That said, we would be honored if you would be a Expand Democracy founding partner – find out how to do so here. You also might want to subscribe to the Expand Democracy Substack that will feature our writings on pro-democracy ideas and initiatives.

In closing, I’m deeply grateful to so many of the people who are receiving today’s message. I look forward to hearing from you and partnering on what feels like an existential exercise, both here and abroad: how best to expand democracy.

Two tags:

My wife Cynthia’s organization RepresentWomen is holding its virtual Democracy Solutions Summit this week, featuring women speakers on timely topics.

We’ve created a tool to define what kind of democracy builder you are. Please consider taking our Democracy Builder Quiz and sharing the opportunity with others.