Voting & Democracy

Current Campaigns

Fighting Political Corruption

Scandals over the last two years have revealed a number of cases of overt corruption. Several top legislative and White House aides have already pled guilty to corruption charges and this may only be the tip of the iceberg. Enforcement is key. The current system is broken. Overseeing one’s own colleagues is difficult under any circumstances, but oversight in a partisan-charged environment like Congress is, as we have now seen, impossible. Congress needs independent and professional oversight and enforcement of the rules. Read more.

Overview

The American system of representative democracy relies on an engaged citizenry and fair representation, and yet voter turnout is lower than it should be, voting is too often difficult, inaccurate or unverifiable, and in many states the districts themselves are drawn by elected officials to benefit themselves or their party. That’s why WISPIRG is fighting to make verifiable, high quality voting machines the standard. We’re registering tens of thousands of young and low-income new voters across the country. And we’re supporting measures that will ensure a fairer way to draw political districts.

Legislative priorities:

Money plays far too great of a role in our elections. Large contributions from a few groups and individuals unduly influence who wins elections and reduce the role of ordinary voters in our democracy.

• WISPIRG supports SB40/AB65, also known as the Impartial Justice Bill, which calls for the creation of a system of full public financing for state Supreme Court races.

• WISPIRG supports SB-23/AB-42, which prohibits elected state officials and their campaign committees from fundraising during state budget deliberations.