Issue Position: Cleaning up America's Electoral System

Issue Position

It's no secret that our electoral system is deeply flawed. Powerful lobbies exert excessive influence in political campaigns. And large numbers of legal and eligible voters are disenfranchised each electoral cycle. In his capacity as Judiciary Subcommittee Chair and Ranking Member, Jerry has held many hearings, introduced legislation, and provided critical oversight on voting rights, campaign finance reform, and general electoral reform.

Jerry believes that these electoral issues leave at stake nothing less than the integrity of our democracy. He was an early and active supporter of enacting full public financing of political campaigns, holding that those who want to represent the people should not be required to be affluent or well-connected. Moreover, those who are now in office should worry more about their work and less about their reelections.

Jerry has long advocated putting an end to the corrupting influence of money on the political process. Among the many reform bills he has championed is the DISCLOSE Act, which would address the Supreme Court's dangerous ruling in Citizens United v. FEC that allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaign ads.

Additionally, as we learned in the 2000 Presidential election, our nation's antiquated and deeply flawed voting systems hinder civic participation, disenfranchise voters, and instill a lack of confidence in electoral outcomes. Jerry has actively used the Subcommittee to address these problems.

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