The American people are frustrated with the American election system. As a result, the United States ranks 138 out of 172 nations in voter turnout. One of the biggest reasons that working adults don’t vote is that they are too busy. Standing in long lines before morning commutes, leaving during workday to travel to assigned polling stations, or putting off family duties to reach the polls after work are luxuries many people can’t afford. Because of this, sixty-five percent of Americans are in favor of making Election Day a national holiday.

Gerrymandering is widely regarded as a distortion of the democratic process. Gerrymandering refers to any deliberate manipulation of electoral boundaries to favor one political party or group. These methods can dramatically skew election outcomes despite little change in overall voter preference. The Supreme Court has declined to review political gerrymandering by states. Congress, however, has the authority to end gerrymandering by requiring that congressional district boundaries be drawn by independent commissions.

Democracies around the world only require a simple majority (above 50%) to pass legislation. The filibuster, which requires approval by 60% of the Senate, makes that chamber the most anti-democratic in the world. If Senators supporting a filibuster are from low population states, they could represent as few as twenty percent of Americans. So, in our democracy, the vast majority of Americans can deeply desire a piece of legislation, but the remaining portion of the population can kill it. The only way to stop this injustice is to eliminate the modern filibuster.