Young Americans give me more hope for substantial electoral and democracy reform
Not a lot of hope, to be sure, but more
The Harvard Institute of Politics (IOP) released a new poll this week that is getting a lot of attention. As it should; The poll shows that a majority of young Americans believe our democracy is either “in trouble,” or “failing.” Among the young people (ages 18-29) that they interviewed:
7% rated the US a “healthy democracy”
27% called it a “somewhat functioning democracy”
39% called it a “democracy in trouble”
and 13% called it a “failed democracy”
(13% were unsure)
This poll gives me the chance to combine the two major topics of this newsletter: polling and democracy reform. I will not squander such a rare opportunity.
First, it is worth saying that I think the young people are right. Our minoritarian electoral institutions, the radicalized right, identity politics, and the strength of opinion leaders have all created an environment where democracy can be subverted from the top down — especially if one party has decided to put subversion of elections near the top of their agenda.
By now, m…
