A Proposal to Reimagine U.S. Democracy EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
By the People, for the People is a proposed nonpartisan, public education and deliberate action initiative to reimagine a strong, responsive and truly representative U.S. democracy, and to restore trust, accountability and engagement in American government.
The initiative would involve collaboration among a broad spectrum of nonpartisan civil society groups, civic leaders and democracy scholars focused on rebuilding Americans’ confidence in and awareness of democratic norms and critical government functions, state by state. The culmination is a reimagining of the institutions of our democratic constitutional republic through a convening of a national People’s Assembly.
The Challenge
In recent decades, the foundational principles of our U.S. democracy have faced unprecedented obstacles. These include the emergence of leaders who openly undermine core democratic principles and values; an American populace often not committed to democratic norms; and a lack of robust participation in democratic institutions and processes.
While still believing in the overall concept of democracy, many Americans don’t expect adherence to democratic norms when their party is in power. A 2024 Democracy Fund study found that only small percentages of Americans consistently hold pro-democracy views on key tenets of democracy. Just 27% support actions like accepting electoral results, rejecting political violence, and governmental checks and balances.
Additionally, few U.S. adults surveyed are satisfied with our democracy (Gallup 2024). Nearly three quarters of Americans believe that the U.S. used to be a good example of democracy but has not been in recent years (Pew 2024).
While the nation has a history of highly impactful protest and reform (such as with the civil rights movement), most Americans today do not participate in our democratic institutions.
The U.S produces some of the lowest turnout rates of established democracies around the world, with fewer Americans actively participating in broader civic institutions. Americans feel disconnected from the political process and do not believe it works for people “like them,” while trust in government is at a historic low (Pew 2022). This has been further exacerbated by an increasingly polarized media and communications landscape.
Going forward, Americans need to trust and believe in their democratic institutions. The U.S. needs a democracy that delivers for all Americans, and one in which they are motivated to preserve, participate in and ensure accountability.
Such a transformation can only happen by making fundamental changes to our political and civic systems, ones that forge a deeper connection to democratic values and produce outcomes that are truly reflective of people’s needs and interests. At the same time, a strong understanding of democracy is needed that better equips Americans to evaluate changes and successfully implement reforms.
The Path Forward for Change
The By the People, for the People initiative will be a two-phase national effort.
Phase I: State-by-state, non-partisan Public Education Campaigns focused on rebuilding awareness of the importance of democratic norms and critical government functions. A state coalition would be established in each state to lead their respective public education campaign. Before a full 50-state roll-out, a test campaign would be piloted in two states—one blue, one red—to refine concepts and approach.
Phase II: • Phase II: Convening of a national People’s Assembly in Washington D.C., comprised of delegates selected by each state coalition. The People’s Assembly would produce a Democracy Roadmap of comprehensive democratic institutional reforms, forged on common ground and aimed at achieving a stronger, more responsive U.S. democracy and engendering high levels of trust, engagement and accountability in government.
PHASE I: REBUILDING AWARENESS IN DEMOCRATIC NORMS: STATE-BY-STATE PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS
The By the People, for the People initiative would be directed by a National Advisory Board comprised of nonpartisan civil society
thought leaders, leading democracy scholars and communication experts.
The National Advisory Board and initiative staff would facilitate the start-up of the state campaigns and the identification of coalition leadership in each state. The National Advisory Board would also assist states with creating and executing their public education campaigns, including providing sample nonpartisan public education materials and general campaign messaging for customization.
Each state coalition would be responsible for customizing, refining and implementing their respective public education campaign, while working in partnership with the National Advisory Board and fellow state coalitions.
In all 50 states, state coalitions formed would include a broad spectrum of nonpartisan, civil society groups (civic, voter advocacy, business, faith-based, education, environmental, health, etc.) that reflect resident populations. A select number of individual residents not associated with specific organizations would also be among coalition members, as would academic partners who could help with rapid message testing (when requested), material development, strategies for countering mis/disinformation, etc.
Each state coalition would include a leadership board, recruited through outreach to be representative of its broader membership. State coalitions would be governed according to by-laws that commit the coalition members to focus their public education campaigns solely on the topics of democratic norms and government functions.
These campaigns would be limited to "basic civics", avoiding potentially divisive or distracting topics.
Coalition members would also establish a set of agreements (built into their by-laws) ensuring that their work be conducted in a nonpartisan, deliberative and collaborative manner.
State coalitions would conduct their public campaign efforts inclusively, with broad reach and with accessible materials for their state’s many communities. Campaign activities could include activities like billboards, TV ads, text and digital ad campaigns, influencer outreach efforts, podcasts, media relations, as well as business, university and community partnerships. The By the People, for the People initiative leadership will regularly seek ways to assess and aid the reach of the state coalition campaigns.
We believe that people who participate in designing and implementing a public education campaign will be especially motivated and prepared to participate in a national People’s Assembly (see Phase 2) that reimagines our democracy. In other words, the experience of organizing the public education campaigns—versus simply receiving information from them—will not only help build commitment, but would likely lead to better outcomes from the People’s Assembly deliberations.
The state campaigns would also serve as a resource for elected officials, other decision makers and media who may need nonpartisan information and materials to cite when publicly explaining/defending democratic norms and good governance practices.
PHASE II: REIMAGINING U.S. DEMOCRACY: PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY AND DEMOCRACY ROADMAP
After three years of developing and conducting the state public education campaigns, the first-of-its- kind national People’s Assembly would be convened in Washington D.C.
Delegates to the People’s Assembly would be selected by the state coalitions in a consistent and transparent process agreed upon in advance by all state coalitions. The national People’s Assembly would deliberate for one year, producing a comprehensive Democracy Roadmap of democratic, common-ground institutional
reforms for implementation by both the public and private sectors at the national, state and/or local levels. The goal of these reforms would be to achieve a strong, responsive and truly representative democracy engendering high levels of trust, engagement and accountability in government.
The People’s Assembly deliberations would be aided by an advisory committee of leading nonpartisan democracy scholars (convened by initiative leadership), who would share established academic research on the recognized pros and cons of proposed democracy reforms. An advisory committee of nationally respected former policymakers could also be available as a resource to address delegates’ questions during their deliberations (if requested).
Once a draft of the Democracy Roadmap is completed, it would be publicly released nationally for input. Americans would be asked to express their reactions via the initiative’s website, as well as through comments/discussions at public meetings. State delegates would bring the draft back to their respective state coalitions for dissemination through the local communication channels previously established by the coalitions. State coalitions would also present the Democracy Roadmap to the people in each state through community meetings that provide opportunities for questions and dialogue.
Engagement with congress, state legislatures, state and local governments, and the private sector would be an integral part of the process, as recommendations would likely involve these different arenas. Each state coalition (and possibly other state stakeholders) would then decide how best to work toward adoption of the Democracy Roadmap and whether they want to edit/adapt the recommendations for their specific state or local context.
Each state coalition would have the option to include a summary of the state-specific response/ adaptation to the Democracy Roadmap in the finalized released report. Some groups (in or out of the coalitions) may decide to specifically advocate for some sections of the Democracy Roadmap, while others could individually decide to not pursue sections. All of this would be considered part of a successful, democratic adoption process.
Democracy Roadmap adoption and implementation at national, state and local levels would be tracked over time by the initiative and publicly shared through an annual report. Ultimately, it’s the American people who will advocate for the Democracy Roadmap’s reforms and work for their adoption and implementation.
Timeline & Scale
Below is an estimated timeline roll-out for the By the People, for the People initiative:
First Three Months
Establish National Advisory Board Formed by nonpartisan directors at the Center for Inclusive Democracy at the University of Southern California and the SNF Agora Institute at John Hopkins. Board members would include nonpartisan civil society leaders, communication experts, and academic democracy scholars
Develop multi-year detailed implementation plan/additional fundraising
Identify pilot states and coalition leadership for state coalitions/public education campaign
Next Nine Months
Develop initial messaging for the state public education campaigns
Roll-out of pilot public education campaigns in one blue/one red state
Refinement of campaigns/address obstacles
Year Two
Planning for 50-state public education campaigns rollout
Identification of remaining 50 state coalitions’ leadership
Build state coalitions’ support and resources
Year Three
Roll out public education campaigns state-by-state (beginning of year)
Planning for the People’s Assembly Washington D.C.
Year Four
Continue public education campaigns state-by-state
People’s Assembly convening (one year)
Democracy Roadmap draft finalization; public release and input
Year Five and beyond
Continue public education campaigns state-by-state
Finalize Democracy Roadmap; Americans advocate for reforms and implement them
The People’s Assembly would have a homebase at the USC Capital Campus in Washington DC. The initiative would link its work to the 250th anniversary of the U.S. in 2026.
Innovation
The People’s Assembly will be the first people’s assembly convened in the U.S. at a national level, representingall50states,onthetopicofAmerican democracy (addressing multiple types of reforms in the public and private sector). The key to its success will be building the capacity of Americans as democratic actors before the formation of a People’s Assembly so that Americans more fully support the work of the Assembly, widely believe in its mission, and are receptive to the innovative change the Democracy Roadmap will bring. The gradual and transparent grassroots process of building state coalitions will also be critical for the legitimacy of the People’s Assembly and to achieve genuine buy-in from civil society leaders, media, policymakers, and most importantly, the American people
Public sector reforms could include legislation, regulations or constitutional amendments. Private sector reforms would be actionable by civil society. Examples of reform topics that the People’s Assembly might consider in their deliberations include: limiting the political influence of big money; electoral reforms making elections more competitive; mandating greater transparency by elected officials; expanding civics education; independent redistricting reform; regulation to combat disinformation; increasing nonpartisan investments (from government, philanthropy, and communities) in civic and voter mobilization; creating more direct democracy pathways; democracy vouchers; and other participatory reforms.
This initiative will directly address low levels of awareness of democratic government norms by building on existing levels of support for U.S. democracy. It will acknowledge the common belief that our democratic institutions and elected officials don’t accurately represent the people’s needs, as well as the low levels of trust in government due to the differential experiences of U.S. communities. This initiative will address historic and current systemic barriers to democratic participation (resulting in disparate outcomes) by building a new democracy that is representative of the needs of all Americans and that ensures equitable and accessible pathways for participation and representation. Americans from all communities will benefit from this sustainable outcome.
Why Now
Our current U.S. democratic system has been in decline for years and is ultimately not sustainable due to the low levels of trust and engagement. A growing number of civil society leaders and democracy scholars believe that Americans are dangerously unprepared to support democracy in the face of a current or future political crises under any leadership.
Bottom line, America is on an accelerated path to becoming a democracy in name only. Momentum is building for enacting significant and sustainable change. Now more than ever, we must come together to find common ground and build a better democracy together—one that truly functions “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” This bold nonpartisan initiative provides a viable and do-able path toward achieving that goal.
