Project 2026: Strengthen Democracy and Election Protections

Safeguard democracy: expand voting rights, end gerrymandering, restore the Voting Rights Act, and fight disinformation. Freedom demands participation.

A Republic—If We Can Keep It

The United States was founded on an audacious experiment: that a free people, governed by consent, could build a society of liberty, equality, and justice. But democracy is not self-sustaining. It requires vigilance, infrastructure, and a citizenry able to participate meaningfully in the electoral process. Today, as the scaffolding of that promise is being systematically dismantled by radical actors who openly espouse minority rule, we must rise to rebuild, reimagine, and reinforce our democratic institutions.

The authoritarian blueprints of Project 2025 threaten to finish the job started by decades of voter suppression, gerrymandering, and disinformation. What they call "election integrity" is a shell game, designed not to protect democracy, but to restrict access, skew results, and concentrate power in the hands of the few. We reject this vision and instead offer one rooted in the principle that every citizen deserves a fair voice and an equal vote.

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I. Expand Voting Rights and Automatic Voter Registration

Universal suffrage is the cornerstone of democratic legitimacy. Yet in the modern United States, that cornerstone is cracked. Despite the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, access to the ballot remains unequal, and millions face barriers based on race, income, age, disability, or incarceration status.

Our solution:

• Automatic voter registration (AVR) for every citizen turning 18, integrated with public systems like the DMV, schools, and social services.

• Same-day registration and extended early voting in all states.

• A National Voting Access Standard that sets minimum voting infrastructure requirements: ballot drop boxes, multilingual ballots, ADA compliance, and reasonable wait times.

Data point: According to the Brennan Center, AVR has increased registration rates by as much as nine percentage points in participating states, while also improving database accuracy and reducing administrative costs.

Historical parallel: In 1941, while fascism spread across Europe, the U.S. doubled down on democratic ideals by expanding voter education and civic engagement. That same year, the Office of Civilian Defense encouraged community participation as an act of patriotism; voting was viewed as a means of resistance against tyranny. Today, it still is.

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II. End Partisan Gerrymandering and Enact National Redistricting Reform

One of the most insidious threats to democracy is partisan gerrymandering, the manipulation of electoral maps to entrench minority rule. It is how Republicans have won legislative supermajorities in states where they consistently receive fewer votes than Democrats. It is how extremist candidates insulate themselves from accountability.

Our solution:

• Independent redistricting commissions in every state, modeled after Arizona and California, have been shown to increase competitiveness and public trust.

• National legislation banning gerrymandering and requiring transparency in the redistricting process.

• Use of AI and open-source algorithms to create equitable maps based on compactness, community continuity, and proportionality, not partisan advantage.

Data point: In 2018, North Carolina’s congressional map was so gerrymandered that Republicans won 10 of 13 seats with just 50% of the statewide vote. A federal court later called it an “unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.”

Historical note: Gerrymandering is named after Elbridge Gerry, who in 1812 approved a Massachusetts district shaped like a salamander. But what was once crude art is now high-tech science. Sophisticated voter modeling allows political operatives to “crack and pack” districts with laser precision, often along racial lines.

This is not democracy. It is digital redlining.

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III. Reinstate and Strengthen the Voting Rights Act

In 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the heart of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in Shelby County v. Holder, eliminating preclearance requirements for states with histories of voter suppression. The results were swift and brutal: within hours, Texas reinstated a racist voter ID law previously blocked under the VRA. Since then, over a dozen states have passed new restrictions targeting marginalized voters.

Our solution:

• Reinstate preclearance requirements with updated formulas to reflect modern patterns of discrimination.

• Establish a Voting Rights Enforcement Division within the Department of Justice, equipped with full investigative and prosecutorial powers.

• Establish nationwide minimum standards for voting access and eliminate arbitrary barriers, such as signature matching, felony disenfranchisement, and voter roll purges.

Historical context: The original VRA was passed in 1965 after Bloody Sunday, when Alabama state troopers brutally attacked peaceful marchers. It is no coincidence that many of the same states that resisted the VRA in 1965 are the ones seeking to dismantle it today. History is not just repeating itself, it’s being remanufactured.

Data point: Between 2014 and 2016, jurisdictions previously covered by the VRA closed nearly 1,200 polling places, most of which were located in Black and Latino neighborhoods. These closures increase wait times, reduce turnout, and deepen mistrust in the system.

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IV. Fighting Modern Disinformation Campaigns and Foreign Interference

Democracy does not fail in a vacuum. It is undermined by lies, manipulation, and foreign adversaries who exploit division. In WWII, the U.S. fought fascist propaganda with public literacy campaigns, truth-driven radio programming, and cultural resistance.

Today, the battlefield is digital and far more complex.

Our proposal includes:

• A new Digital Democracy Defense Act to regulate algorithmic amplification of false content and require transparency in political ad targeting.

• Public investment in media literacy education should start in middle school.

• A modern equivalent of the Fairness Doctrine, to hold broadcast and digital media accountable for knowingly spreading disinformation.

• Election infrastructure cybersecurity upgrades, and a nonpartisan Election Defense Commission to coordinate with state and local officials.

WWII parallel: The Office of War Information (OWI) during WWII coordinated a national strategy to combat fascist narratives and inform the public. Films, posters, and school programs taught Americans how to recognize propaganda and stand against tyranny. Today, that same energy is needed, only now, the posters are memes, and the enemy is often hidden behind an anonymous profile picture.

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Conclusion: A Democracy Worth Defending

The Project 2026 vision for democracy is unapologetically inclusive, intentionally participatory, and technologically modern. We are not naïve; we know there are forces working night and day to erode the republic. But democracy is not just a system of government. It is a collective act of faith.

To protect it, we must act boldly:

• Expand access.

• Eliminate manipulation.

• Restore enforcement.

• Educate the electorate.

• Defend truth.

And we must do it now, before the next stolen election is not just attempted but accomplished.

*BOOK LIST: Strengthening Democracy and Election Protections

1. Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America - Ari Berman
2. One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy - Carol Anderson
3. Why We're Polarized - Ezra Klein
4. How Democracies Die - Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt
5. Republic, Lost: The Corruption of Equality and the Steps to Renewing Our Democracy - Lawrence Lessig
6. The Myth of Voter Fraud - Lorraine C. Minnite
7. Ratfked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America’s Democracy - David Daley
8. They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45 - Milton Mayer

*Linked books are uncompensated, and may only be available used. ALSO: Fuck Amazon.