Democracy is the Politics of Freedom.
We can Rescue US Democracy in Three Steps.
1) Make Diverse Representative Voting the standard for seating officers and legislators.
2)Replace the office of President with a Collegial Executive.
2) Make all legislative districts multi-membered.
This site explains these three steps and drives a groundswell with members help to make them a reality.
Some Definitions
Diverse Representation Voting (DRV) is a selection method in which each voter gets one vote to elect members of a group. Candidates are seated based on their ranking in the vote.
Example: A Congressional District may have four seats to fill. The top four leading contenders are all seated.
A Collegial Executive is an executive of several members of equal power in charge of their separate departments. The members can contest one another's decisions and bring it to a vote, but no single member can veto another's or a group's decision.
Example: The EU and Switzerland each have collegial executives.
Multi-Membered District is a legislative district with more than one seat.
Example: Some countries within the European Union use multimember districts to elect their representatives to the European Parliament, meaning voters select multiple candidates for representation from a given region.
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The Power of the Cap
Our current political system is fundamentally broken. Despite being one of the world’s oldest democratic republics, the United States faces an unprecedented crisis of representation, polarization, and political gridlock. These problems aren’t just incidental by-products of our politics but structural issues rooted in our voting system and how we elect our leaders.
The Polarization of Politics is entrenched.
The winner-takes-all is the primary culprit behind the increasing polarization of our politics. In this system, the candidate with the most votes wins, and only one party’s candidate can represent an entire district or country. This creates a zero-sum environment where parties have strong incentives to cater to their most extreme supporters to secure a win rather than build coalitions across the political spectrum.
Candidates are pushed to align with the most PARTISAN segments of their base, voters more ideologically extreme than the general electorate.
Moderate voices are silenced, and compromise is punished. In many districts, it is more important for candidates to appeal to party loyalists than their constituents' broad, diverse views.
This leads to a cycle of increasing extremism, where elected officials focus more on defeating the opposition than governing EFFECTIVELY.
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Two-party dominance means that Congress constantly battles, leaving little room for cooperation or innovative solutions.
Legislation is often stalled, watered down, or blocked entirely due to partisan disagreements, even on issues with broad public support.
The lack of diverse viewpoints leads to policy stagnation, where problems are left unaddressed because the political will for compromise is absent.
Disenfranchisement
The current voting system not only polarizes our politics but also effectively disenfranchises millions of voters. Under the first-past-the-post model, only the candidate with the most votes wins, leaving all other votes without representation. This creates a phenomenon known as the "WASTED VOTE."
Gerrymandering: A Tool of Disenfranchisement
Gerrymandering, the practice of manipulating district boundaries to favor one party, exacerbates this issue. Politicians create districts ensuring their party's victory, making elections less competitive.
As a result, voters in heavily gerrymandered districts often feel their vote doesn’t matter, leading to lower voter turnout and decreased political engagement.
Communities of minority groups are disproportionately affected, as they are often packed into a few districts or spread thinly across many, diluting their voting power….
The Disillusionment of the Electorate
Many Americans feel their voices aren’t being heard and their concerns aren’t being addressed. This disenfranchisement leads to widespread disillusionment and distrust in the political system.
Voter turnout in the United States is among the lowest of any developed democracy, with millions choosing not to vote because they believe it won’t make a difference.
The lack of meaningful representation undermines the principle of democracy, which states that every vote is supposed to count equally……
Our Nation is in Crisis. Let's Fix it.
Democracy is the politics of freedom, where people govern through elected representatives, protected rights, and equal participation. It ensures individual liberties, open debate, and fair representation, allowing diverse voices to shape society while preventing tyranny.
Democracy ensures representation, rights, and accountability, not just majority rule. Majoritarianism can oppress minorities, whereas true democracy balances power through protections like constitutional rights, checks and balances, and diverse representation. It prioritizes fairness, participation, and mutual respect, preventing tyranny by the majority while upholding justice for all.
So how do we elect representation other than majoritarianism? That is where Diverse Representation Voting comes in.
Electing a Congress with Diverse Representation Voting
Compare these two ways of selecting legislators.
A) Five single-member districts with winner-takes-all outcomes means that one party can dominate in all five districts, even with narrow victories, leaving many voters unrepresented.
B) When we combine these five districts, allow each voter one vote, and seat the top five leading contenders, a broader spectrum of voters receive representation. This is more democratic. These are multi-membered districts.
Multi-member congressional districts (MMDs) offer several advantages over winner-takes-all (single-member) districts. Here are five key benefits:
1. More Representative Outcomes – MMDs allow for a greater diversity of political viewpoints to be represented in Congress. Instead of one candidate winning 100% of the representation with a simple plurality, multiple candidates from different parties or perspectives can gain seats, reflecting the full spectrum of voter preferences.
2. Reduced Partisan Gerrymandering—Because MMDs cover larger geographic areas and elect multiple representatives, manipulating district lines to favor one party becomes more difficult. This leads to fairer elections and reduces extreme partisan advantages.
3. Encourages Collaboration Over Polarization – With multiple representatives from a district, there is less incentive for zero-sum, hyper-partisan politics. Elected officials may be more inclined to work together and represent a broader constituency than just their party's base.
4. Better Representation for Minority and Third-Party Voters – In winner-takes-all systems, more minor political factions often get shut out entirely. MMDs give minority parties and independent voices a real chance at winning seats, leading to a more inclusive democracy.
5. More Competitive Elections – In single-member districts, many races are effectively decided in party primaries, especially in politically lopsided areas. MMDs make elections more competitive because multiple seats are up for grabs, giving voters more choices and reducing the number of "safe" districts where one party dominates unchallenged.
Electing an Executive with Diverse Representation Voting
George Washington took office on April 30, 1789. Forty-six others have taken that office since. Washington may have been the last to enter the office with little contention, from the Burr-Hamilton duel to Lincoln's election leading to the Civil War to the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Presidentialism is the major cause of political unrest in most republics, and ours is no exception. It is also the incubator of dictators.
The rancor in presidential elections stems from the zero-sum reality that one candidate's triumph inherently means the other's loss. It takes 50+n percent of the electoral vote to win the office, and the remaining 50-n loses. Every president claims a popular mandate, but few have one.
It doesn't need to be this way; what will it take to replace the office of president with a non-zero sum body?
That would be a collegial executive. A collegial executive is a governing body where decision-making power is shared among multiple individuals rather than concentrated in a single leader. It is considered a non-zero-sum body because its structure encourages cooperation, consensus-building, and mutual benefit rather than competition where one member’s gain is another’s loss.
Benjamin Franklin expressed skepticism about a presidency and favored a collegial executive as an alternative. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Benjamin Franklin was concerned about the dangers of a strong executive, fearing it could lead to monarchy or tyranny. He was influenced by the Swiss model of governance, which featured a plural executive system where power was shared among several individuals.
Though Franklin did not succeed in establishing a multi-member executive at the federal level, his influence can be seen in some early state governments, such as Pennsylvania, which, under its 1776 constitution, had an Executive Council instead of a single governor. Switzerland still has an eight-person functioning collegial executive. The European Union also has a collegial executive.
Collegial Executives have a long history. The successes and failures are a matter of record and study. The long success of Switzerland, the EU, and Native American Nations can serve as inspiration.
How would we elect a collegial executive? The two ways are to allow a congress with multi-member seating to select the executive members or to use a public vote. Either would be done using Diverse Representation Voting, with one vote from each voter and eight leading contenders elected.
Democracy is the Politics of Freedom.
Declare Democracy is a movement to reclaim and strengthen democracy through Diverse Representation Voting, Collegial Executives, and Multi-Membered Districts—proven solutions that bring actual representation to the people. We aim to organize communities nationwide, educate citizens, and push for reforms that ensure government works for everyone.
We are calling for volunteers, organizers, and speakers who believe in freedom and want to take action. Whether you can give a few hours a month or step up as a leader in your community, your voice matters.
How You Can Help:
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Help Build a Groundswell for Freedom
My name is Ed Frizzell. I am a politically independent Vietnam-era veteran and a retired teacher. I was seventeen when I first saw the roadblocks to our freedom, and I have journaled my thoughts and studies on world politics ever since. I started Declare Democracy with input from many friends.
The constitutional crisis now upon us calls every citizen to step forward. We need statutory and constitutional changes. Can we make the changes in time? It took only 100 days to pass the 26th Amendment. It took an introduction in Congress and a public groundswell.
Our Country Needs Your Help