Democracy Hardening

Engine: Engine 7

Framing

Democratic institutions currently drift toward capture. Gerrymandering concentrates partisan power. Lifetime SCOTUS terms produce generational misalignment. Dark money PACs dominate campaign finance. DOJ politicization undermines rule of law. The Accord hardens democratic institutions against capture through structural reform — not through partisan restructuring, but through institutional mechanisms that resist partisan drift of any direction.

Core reforms

Ranked-choice voting — Federal elections use ranked-choice. Eliminates spoiler dynamics, reduces polarization by rewarding coalition-building.

18-year SCOTUS terms — Staggered 18-year terms with one vacancy every two years. Ends the distortion where a president's SCOTUS legacy depends on death timing.

Automatic voter registration — Every American registered to vote automatically upon citizenship or at age 18. Opt-out available.

Independent redistricting — Federal elections redistricted by independent commissions, not state legislatures.

Democracy vouchers — Every voter receives annual public campaign contribution voucher (e.g., $100-200) assignable to candidates.

DOJ independence — Statutory protection for DOJ independence from presidential direction on specific investigations. Inspector general protection from political removal.

Emergency power constraints — Specific statutory limits on presidential emergency powers. Sunset provisions requiring congressional renewal.

Franchise Hardening

The Franchise Hardening sub-component includes automatic voter registration, ranked-choice voting, independent redistricting, and democracy vouchers. These are structural reforms to voting access and competitive elections.

DC Statehood and Puerto Rico

Accord supports DC Statehood (enabling 700,000 Americans to elect voting congressional representation) and Puerto Rico self-determination (permitting the island to choose statehood, independence, or continued commonwealth status through structured referendum).