The links below outline a proposed Democracy Bill of Rights—a set of hypothetical constitutional amendments designed to fix the Constitution and protect American democracy for future generations. These amendments are listed in a specific order, starting with the most crucial: an amendment to make future amendments significantly easier to pass.
The Democracy Bill of Rights Amendments
- Democracy Amendment 1: Citizen-Led Amendment Pathway Reform
- Democracy Amendment 2: Presidential Powers Reform
- Democracy Amendment 3: Deliberative Democracy
- Democracy Amendment 4: Voting Rights Reform
- Democracy Amendment 5: Campaign Finance Reform
- Democracy Amendment 6: Gerrymandering Abolishment
- Democracy Amendment 7: Term Limits Reform
- Democracy Amendment 8: Supreme Court Reform
- Democracy Amendment 9: Senate Reform
- Democracy Amendment 10: Electoral College Abolishment
DemocracyBillofRights.org exists to ignite a movement for real constitutional change—whether through amendments or, if necessary, a complete rewrite of the U.S. Constitution—to make our system truly democratic.
Above are links to ten hypothetical amendments, that we believe attain those goals. Just as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution were named the Bill of Rights, these 10 amendments are aptly named the Democracy Bill of Rights because their aim is to preserve and strengthen American Democracy for generations to come.
People frequently talk about the changes described in the links above, such as ending the Electoral College, stopping gerrymandering, imposing term limits, and getting money out of politics. But the biggest obstacle isn’t knowing what needs to change—it’s knowing how to make it happen. That’s where DemocracyBillofRights.org comes in.
Robert Dahl, the late Yale Professor of Political Science proposed five criteria that all good democratic constitutions possess:
- Maintains Democracy
- Protects Rights
- Ensures Fairness
- Encourages Consensus
- Promotes Effective Problem Solving
The hypothetical amendments we proposed above are designed to accomplish those goals.
Politicians won’t fix this for us. Real change happens when the people demand it. History shows that when just 3.5% of the population engages in a coordinated, sustained movement, transformation is inevitable. The Constitution may be the hardest in the world to amend, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it. Around the world, constitutions are amended and rewritten all the time in response to crisis and public demand.
A breaking point is coming. When it does, we must be ready—not just with demands, but with a clear, actionable vision for a stronger democracy. That is the mission of the Democracy Bill of Rights.
