Electoral reform won't save the Republicans or the Democrats
Key takeaways
- In our era of polarized politics and unstable majorities, many partisans assume that changing the law can give them an edge.
- Democratic politicians believe that nonvoters are predominantly Democrats, so they want to make voting as easy as possible.
- Republicans also believe that most nonvoters, and too many current voters, are Democrats, so they want to make voting harder.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
Leal, opinion contributor - 05/16/26 11:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied by David L. Leal, opinion contributor - 05/16/26 11:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., right, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, conduct a news conference at the House steps of the U.S. Capitol to introduce the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Throughout American history, politicians have fiddled with electoral rules in the hope of changing election outcomes. Whether the excuse was good government in the Progressive Era, the 1993 motor voter campaign to enhance voter participation or so-called ballot security today, everyone knows the primary motivation.
In our era of polarized politics and unstable majorities, many partisans assume that changing the law can give them an edge. The reality is more complicated. Both parties cling to outdated ideas of which demographics support each party and have a poor understanding of why people vote in the first place. Attempts to reshape the electorate are unlikely to work as intended and may even backfire.
Democratic politicians believe that nonvoters are predominantly Democrats, so they want to make voting as easy as possible. They are outraged by the suggestion that they favor anything other than expanding democracy.