Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp, D-Skamania, has introduced a proposal to establish a bipartisan select committee to consider electoral reforms.
On Tuesday, Gluesenkamp Perez joined Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, in introducing the Electoral Reform Select Committee Act. If passed, the lawmakers say the committee would consider multi-member districts with proportional representation, increasing the number of members in the House of Representatives and establishing independent redistricting commissions, among other proposals.
“Regardless of party or ideology, more and more Americans feel that our democracy isn’t working for them,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “Voters feel unrepresented and are losing faith in a government that they view as unreflective of their communities and values. As members of Congress, we need to take a step back, reexamine how we got here, and work toward what we can do to fix it. This bipartisan select committee will look at the role our electoral system plays in exacerbating the hyper-partisanship, cynicism, and obstruction that has taken over today’s politics. It’s past time for Congress to set aside the conflict and chaos of clickbait politics and get back to work governing on behalf of the American people.”
According to the lawmakers, the proposal has the support of more than 170 political scientists, who wrote that Congress should “take this step towards reversing today’s dangerous levels of polarization and dysfunction and to strengthen itself as the fulcrum of our democracy.”
Earlier this year, Gluesenkamp Perez and Golden joined Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, and Andrew Garbarino, R-New York, in introducing the Let America Vote Act of 2024.
If approved, the legislation would:
• Require states to permit access to unaffiliated voters to vote in primary elections for federal office
• Withhold federal funds if a state does not permit access to unaffiliated voters to vote in primary elections for state and local office
• Provide additional funds for states to transition to access to primary elections for unaffiliated voters
• Restrict the use of voter data for nonaffiliated voters
• Prohibit states from permitting non-citizens to vote in elections for federal office
• Withhold federal funds if a state permits non-citizens to vote in elections for state and local office
