COMMISSION ON POLITICAL REFORM Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy This report is the product of the BPC Commission on Political Reform with participants of diverse expertise and affiliations, addressing many complex and contentious topics. It is inevitable that arriving at a consensus document in these circumstances entailed compromises. Accordingly, it should not be assumed that every member is entirely satisfied with every formulation in this document, or even that all participants would agree with any given recommendation if it were taken in isolation. Rather, this group reached consensus on these recommendations as a package. The findings and recommendations expressed herein are solely those of the commission and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Bipartisan Policy Center, its founders, or its Board of Directors. Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy 1 BPC Commission on Political Reform CO-CHAIRS Tom Daschle Dirk Kempthorne Olympia Snowe Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Former Governor of Idaho, U.S. Former U.S. Senator (D-SD); Co-founder, BPC Secretary of the Interior, and U.S. (R-ME); Senior Fellow, BPC Senator (R-ID); President and CEO, Dan Glickman American Council of Life Insurers Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Representative (D-KS); Trent Lott Senior Fellow, BPC Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader (R-MS); Senior Fellow, BPC COMMISSIONERS Hope Andrade Heather Gerken David McIntosh Former Texas Secretary of State (R) J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law, Yale Former U.S. Representative (R-IN); Law School Partner, Mayer Brown LLP Molly Barker Founder, Girls on the Run Michael Gerson Eric L. Motley Former Speechwriter for President Former Special Assistant to President Robert F. Bennett George W. Bush; Columnist, The George W. Bush; Vice President, the Former U.S. Senator Washington Post Aspen Institute (R-UT); Senior Fellow, BPC Charles Gonzalez Reihan Salam Henry Bonilla Former U.S. Representative (D-TX) Lead Writer, National Review Online’s Former U.S. Representative (R-TX); “The Agenda” Partner, The Normandy Group Jennifer M. Granholm Former Governor of Michigan (D) Kurt L. Schmoke John Bridgeland Former Mayor of Baltimore (D); Vice Former Director, White House Antonia Hernández President and General Counsel, Domestic Policy Council; Former President and CEO, California Howard University Director, USA Freedom Corps; Community Foundation President and CEO, Civic Enterprises Diane Tomb Karen Hughes Former President and CEO, National Susan Eisenhower Former Under Secretary of State Association of Women Business Owners Chairman of Leadership and Public for Public Diplomacy and Public Policy Programs, Eisenhower Institute; Affairs; Worldwide Vice Chair, Burson- Ann M. Veneman President, Eisenhower Group Marsteller Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; Former Executive Director of UNICEF Floyd H. Flake Victoria Kennedy Former U.S. Representative (D-NY); Co-founder, Edward M. Kennedy Ronald A. Williams Pastor, Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral Institute for the United States Senate Former Chairman and CEO, Aetna Inc.; Founder, RW-2 Enterprises Mark D. Gearan Chris Marvin LLC Former Director, Peace Corps; Managing Director, “Got Your 6”; President, Hobart and William Smith Captain (ret.), U.S. Army Elaine Wynn Colleges Director, Wynn Resorts; National Chairman, Communities in Schools; President, Nevada State Board of Education 2 BPC Commission on Political Reform STAFF Dr. John C. Fortier Matthew Weil Domingo Juan Co-Director Senior Policy Analyst Administrative Assistant Michele Nellenbach Eric Larson Don Wolfensberger Co-Director Policy Analyst Resident Scholar John Richter Senior Advisor Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy 3 Table of Contents Letter from Co-Chairs ............................................................5 Executive Summary .............................................................7 Commission Recommendations ....................................................11 Electoral System Reform .................................................................... 11 Congressional Reform ...................................................................... 12 A Call to Service .......................................................................... 14 Introduction ..................................................................19 National Conversations on American Unity ....................................................... 19 The Political Dysfunction in Washington ......................................................... 21 The Political System Must More Effectively Channel Our Differences .................................... 23 The Commission’s Recommendations ........................................................... 24 Electoral System Reform ...........................................................................25 Congressional Reform .............................................................................25 A Call to Service .................................................................................26 A Truly Bipartisan Consensus ................................................................. 26 Electoral System Reform: Creating a Fairer, More Open, and More Transparent Process ...........29 Redistricting Reform ....................................................................... 30 Redistricting Commissions .........................................................................31 Redistricting Processes and Procedures ...............................................................33 Primary Reform ........................................................................... 35 Broadening Participation ...........................................................................35 Election Administration ..................................................................... 39 Access and Integrity in Voter Registration ..............................................................40 Early Voting ....................................................................................42 Professionalization and Depoliticization of Election Administration ............................................43 Election Reporting ...............................................................................44 Money in Politics ......................................................................... 46 Disclosure .....................................................................................46 Additional Areas of Study ..........................................................................48 Conclusion .............................................................................. 49 4 Table of Contents Congressional Reform: Transforming Congress into a Higher-Performing Institution ..............51 The Daily Life of a Member of Congress ......................................................... 52 Improving the Legislative Process ............................................................. 56 Congressional Committees .........................................................................56 Robust Debate ..................................................................................58 The Filibuster ...................................................................................64 Congress and the Purse Strings ............................................................... 67 Conclusion .............................................................................. 69 A Call to Service: A More Engaged Citizenry ..........................................71 An Expectation to Serve ..................................................................... 71 The History of Service .............................................................................72 Why Service? ...................................................................................75 An Expectation of Service ..........................................................................75 Training .......................................................................................78 Expanding Opportunities ...........................................................................80 The Infrastructure ................................................................................81 Private-Sector Commitment ........................................................................83 Government Service ....................................................................... 84 Elective Office ...................................................................................84 Political Appointments ............................................................................88 Civil Service ....................................................................................94 Civics Education .................................................................................95 Conclusion .............................................................................. 97 Conclusion ..................................................................99 APPENDIX: Data on Congress ....................................................100 All photos included in this report are from the Commission on Political Reform’s public town halls held across the country in 2013 and 2014. Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy 5 Letter from Co-Chairs We are honored to serve as co-chairs of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s