How America’s Electoral System Benefits Authoritarianism, and How We Can Fix it
When: Feb. 2, 2022, 12:00 PM ET
Where: Virtual
Featuring:
- Matt Germer, Resident Elections Fellow, Governance Program, R Street Institute
- Nick Troiano, Executive Director, Unite America
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Lee Drutman, Senior Fellow, Political Reform Program, New America
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Didi Kuo, Associate Director for Research and Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development, Stanford University
Join Protect Democracy, Unite America, and R Street on Wednesday, February 2 at 12:00pm ET/ 9:00am PT for a discussion panel on how features of the U.S. electoral system are exacerbating America’s authoritarian threat. While those concerned about U.S. democracy justifiably focus on the current far-right campaigns to curtail voting rights nationwide and interfere with election administration, the roots of antidemocratic extremism run much deeper. A new report by Protect Democracy argues that, unlike most other major democracies, the U.S. electoral system—single-member plurality—is structurally and uniquely advantaging authoritarianism: diluting minority voting power, weakening competition between the major parties, preventing an electorally viable new center-right party, and rewarding extreme factions at the ballot box.
This briefing will address the following questions:
>How is America’s electoral system anomalous?
>What challenges does this system present to democratic resilience?
>How can we structurally reverse the authoritarian tide?
At a time when it’s easy to feel bleak about the state of our democracy, our panelists will explain why they’re still hopeful.
