Issues
Criminal Justice Reform
It's no secret that our criminal justice system is broken. Policies of mass incarceration have put 2.3 million people in captivity in the U.S. Our country makes up about 4% of the world's population, but houses 20% of incarcerated people. How can we call ourselves the land of the free when we imprison so many?
We have to fight back. We have to end the war on drugs, beginning with legalizing marijuana and treating addiction as a health crisis, rather than a criminal issue.
We have to end mandatory minimums, and allow judges and juries to use their judgment, rather than having their hands tied with outdated legislation.
We need to end involuntary prison labor, a form of legalized slavery that has forced people across the country are forced to work for little to no pay.
We need to end solitary confinement, a practice proven to cause irreparable brain damage in as early as 10 days.
We need oversight and accountability for police, and end policies like qualified immunity and forced civil forfeiture. We need to establish national guidelines for Human Rights for indivuals confronted by police. By the standards of the United Nations, ZERO states reach the threshold for Human Rights in relation to police force. Now more than ever, we must challenge the plague of police brutality.
We need to fix plea bargains. When 97% of people in federal prison were not convicted by a jury of their peers, they are coerced into forfeiting their rights out of fear of a harsher sentence.
These policies are not blind ideology, our head-in-the-clouds optimism. These are tangible, concrete policies that can be used to heal our broken system.
Electoral Reform
Our electoral system is riddled with problems: partisan gerrymandering, shady campaign funding voter suppression and corrupt lobbyists are only a few of the issues that damage our democracy.
We need to fix gerrymandering by forming independent voting commissions to draw our districts, so that constituents choose their representatives, not the other way around.
We need to allow automatic and same day voter registration, along with both-by-mail ballots for anyone who wants one.
We need to make Election Day a federal holiday and extend access to early voting--no one should be unable to vote because they can't afford to take time off of work.
We need to repeal Citizens United, to make sure that Super PACs and massive corporations aren't spending unlimited money funding campaigns, so that politicians aren't bought and paid for by billionaire donors (which is why David hasn't accepted any money from Super PACs).
We need to restore the right to vote for every person convicted of a crime. It's estimated that 6 million people have lost their right to vote as a result of their criminal record. The right to vote is inalienable, and the more people who have a say in their leadership, the better.
We need to enact term limits in Congress, so the same career politicians (like Pete Sessions) don't spend decades getting rich while ignoring their constituents.
We need to fight partisan division by implementing ranked-choice voting, allowing voters to choose who they would most and least prefer to serve in any given seat, encouraging broader coalitions and making candidates focusing on politics over party, opening the door for newer representation. 39% of Americans said they identify with neither political party. The two party system is failing us, and ranked-choice voting is the first step to fixing it.