Making government more responsive to citizens through electoral reform, transparency, and citizen empowerment.
The reforms outlined here—ranked choice voting, open primaries, direct democracy, and campaign finance reform—are mutually reinforcing. Democratic reforms produce representatives more responsive to constituent needs.
Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority, the last-place candidate is eliminated and those votes transfer to voters' second choices. Repeat until someone has majority support.
New York has one of the most restrictive primary systems in the country. 3.7 million voters—29% of registered—are locked out of primaries that effectively decide most elections.
26 states allow citizens to propose and vote directly on laws. New York is NOT among them. Citizens can only vote on constitutional amendments proposed by the legislature.
Since Citizens United (2010), money in politics has exploded. The 2024 election saw $4.5 billion in independent expenditures and $1.3 billion in "dark money" from undisclosed sources.
NYC already uses RCV for municipal primaries (approved by 74% referendum in 2019). Multiple bills are pending at the state level including A560 (RCV for presidential elections), A90 (RCV for nonpartisan primaries), and A8830 (pilot program for local elections 2026-2027).
Find issues where right and left converge (efficiency, transparency, local empowerment). Avoid partisan framing even when one side is initially more supportive. Build relationships across party lines before introducing controversial proposals.