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Democracy

Fix the system
before it fixes itself.

Dark money. Gerrymandered maps. A captured Supreme Court. Voter suppression done in broad daylight. Our democracy is under attack. The attackers are clear about what they're doing. We have to be just as clear about stopping them.

The Damage in Numbers

This is not normal. Don't normalize it.

$16B

Dark money spent in U.S. elections since Citizens United (2010). None of it had to be disclosed.

1%

of donors give about 70% of all federal campaign money. That is under 1 million people setting national policy.

6-3

Supreme Court supermajority. Appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote, before a single case was heard.

14M

Americans purged from voter rolls from 2016 to 2022, per Brennan Center data

How We Got Here

Democracy doesn't fail overnight. It fails rule by rule.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010) was not a natural disaster. It was a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling. It turned democracy into an auction house. Corporate spending in elections shot up right away. Donors started to matter more than voters.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013) gutted the Voting Rights Act. It killed the preclearance rule. That rule made states with a history of discrimination get federal approval before changing voting laws. Within 24 hours of the ruling, Texas put in place a strict voter ID law. That law had been blocked for years.

Today's Supreme Court is the work of a planned legal and political movement. The Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, and dark money networks all pushed for it. They wanted partisans on the Court, not neutral judges. The result is a 6-3 supermajority. It is willing to overturn settled law and make policy from the bench.

Project 2029 treats the democracy crisis for what it is. It is an emergency. It needs structural reform, not small fixes.

What Project 2025 Did to Democracy

  • Proposed ending the independence of federal agencies. All rule-making power would sit with the president. That removes a key check against strongman rule.
  • Brought back Schedule F. It lets the president turn up to 50,000 career civil servants into at-will political hires. That ends the professional civil service.
  • Turned the DOJ into a weapon against political opponents. Shielded the president's allies from prosecution.
  • Shut down the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency that coordinates election security.
  • Proposed gutting the FEC's power to enforce the law. That opens the door to even more dark money.

The Plan

What Project 2029 proposes.

Based on Chapters 28-31 of Project 2029. Seven proposed constitutional amendments. Structural reform, not just policy patches.

The Ten Constitutional Amendments

Some problems can't be fixed by laws alone. Project 2029 proposes 10 amendments to fix them.

28th Amendment
Voting Rights
Creates a clear right to vote. Bans voter suppression tactics by name.
29th Amendment
Presidential Accountability
No president is above the law. Ends absolute immunity. Criminal accountability for all.
30th Amendment
Citizens United Reversal
Corporations are not people. Money is not speech. Democracy is not for sale.
31st Amendment
Senate Reform
Reforms Senate terms and structure so it better reflects where people actually live
32nd Amendment
Electoral College Reform
Makes sure the candidate who gets more votes actually becomes president
33rd Amendment
SCOTUS Reform
18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices. Take politics out of the nomination process.
34th Amendment
Economic Rights
Puts Social Security, Medicare, and the right to organize into the Constitution
1

SCOTUS Reform and Term Limits

End lifetime appointments for the most powerful judges in the world

Set 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices by law (or by constitutional amendment if challenged). Create a rotating panel system. Retired justices would rotate back to Circuit Court duties. Set a fixed appointment schedule so no president can appoint more than 2 justices per term. Create a Supreme Court Code of Ethics with real enforcement. Right now, the 9 justices are the only federal judges with no binding ethics rules. Require justices to disclose all hospitality, gifts, and paid travel.

Legal Authority: Art. III - legislation can set the number and conditions of justices; Congress sets SCOTUS jurisdiction
2

Democracy for All Act (Citizens United Reversal)

Take the money out of politics

Pass the Democracy for All constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. That lets Congress limit corporate spending in elections. At the same time, pass the DISCLOSE Act. All political spending above $10,000 would have to be disclosed within 24 hours, no matter who spends it. Create a small-dollar public financing system: a $6 federal match for every $1 given to participating candidates (up to $250). Pay for it with a 0.1% tax on financial trades. Ban foreign-owned entities from any U.S. political spending.

Legal Authority: First Amendment (as amended by 30th Amendment); Article I; Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
3

Voting Rights Restoration Act

Make it easier to vote, everywhere

Restore and greatly expand the Voting Rights Act. Bring back preclearance with a new formula based on recent violations. Require automatic voter registration at all federal agencies (DMV, SSA, etc.). Require 15 days of early voting and mail-in voting in every state. Make Election Day a federal holiday. Stop polling place closures that hit minority communities hardest. Restore voting rights to all Americans who have finished their sentences. That includes the 5.2 million people now barred from voting because of felony convictions.

Legal Authority: 15th Amendment; 14th Amendment Equal Protection; Article I, Section 4 (Elections Clause)
4

Independent Redistricting Commission Act

End partisan gerrymandering nationwide

Require every state to use independent commissions to draw congressional and state legislative districts. Set federal rules: districts must be compact, must not weaken minority voting power, and may not be drawn to favor any party. Bar state legislatures from overriding commission maps. Create a federal Redistricting Equity Review Board to enforce the rules. Throw out the gerrymandered maps now in effect until new commission-drawn maps are ready.

Legal Authority: Article I, Section 4 (Elections Clause); 14th Amendment; Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) - federal statutory fix
5

Restore Civil Service Independence (Reverse Schedule F)

A professional government, not a loyalty test

Cancel Schedule F on Day One by executive order. Pass the Civil Service Protection Act to ban Schedule F in law. Changing it would take a 60-vote Senate supermajority, so no future president could undo it alone. Bring back every career employee fired under Schedule F, with back pay and full reinstatement rights. Set civil and criminal penalties for political interference with career civil servants. Rebuild the Office of Personnel Management as an independent agency.

Legal Authority: Civil Service Reform Act (5 U.S.C. § 2301); Pendleton Act principles; 1st Amendment (Elrod v. Burns)
6

Presidential Accountability Act

No president is above the law. Full stop.

Pass a law making clear that sitting presidents can be indicted and prosecuted for federal crimes. That overrides the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel opinion that has blocked presidential prosecution. Introduce the 29th Amendment to remove absolute presidential immunity for acts taken in office. Create an independent Special Counsel office, protected by law and appointed by a panel of judges rather than the Attorney General. Ban presidential pardons for co-conspirators in crimes the president is alleged to be part of.

Legal Authority: Art. II, Sec. 4; 5th Amendment Due Process; Trump v. United States (2024) - statutory override
7

DOJ Independence and Rule of Law Restoration

The Department of Justice works for the Constitution, not the president

Write DOJ independence into law through the DOJ Independence Act. The Attorney General gets a fixed 5-year term and can be removed only for cause. The president may not contact the DOJ about ongoing investigations. The AG must testify to Congress every quarter about any presidential contacts. Create an independent Inspector General with subpoena power and the authority to report on its own. Have a bipartisan panel review and restore DOJ cases that were dropped or manipulated for political reasons.

Legal Authority: Art. II, Section 3; Article I oversight power; Morrison v. Olson (1988)

Take Action

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Authoritarians win only when the rest of us stay home.

Vote in Everything

Primary elections. Local elections. Off-year elections. That's where democracy is won or lost.

Register Now →

Demand Reform

Ask your representatives to cosponsor the DISCLOSE Act, the For the People Act, and SCOTUS ethics reform.

Contact Your Rep →

Run for Something

School boards. County commissions. State legislature. Local races matter a lot. You can win.

Run for Office →

Read the Full Chapters

Chapters 28-31 cover legal accountability, structural safeguards, transformation, and constitutional hardball.

Read the Plan →

Share This

Help others understand what's at stake.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What democracy reforms does Project 2029 propose?
Project 2029 proposes a comprehensive democracy reform package: the Freedom to Vote Act codifying voting rights; the For the People Act ending dark money and gerrymandering; Supreme Court reform with 18-year term limits; abolishing the Electoral College through the National Popular Vote Compact; statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico; automatic voter registration; ranked-choice voting for federal elections; and 10 constitutional amendments protecting voting rights, presidential accountability, and democratic institutions.
How would Project 2029 address the Citizens United decision?
Project 2029 proposes a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and its progeny, restoring Congress's authority to regulate campaign spending. In the interim, it proposes the DISCLOSE Act requiring immediate disclosure of all dark money contributions over $10,000, banning foreign-influenced corporations from federal elections, and establishing a small-dollar matching system to amplify the voices of ordinary donors.
What does Project 2029 propose for Supreme Court reform?
Project 2029 proposes establishing 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices through a constitutional amendment, with justices rotating to senior status on lower courts after their term. This would ensure each presidential term has two predictable appointments, eliminating the strategic manipulation of retirement timing. It also proposes a binding code of ethics with independent enforcement and recusal requirements for justices with financial conflicts.
What constitutional amendments does Project 2029 propose?
Project 2029 proposes 10 constitutional amendments: the 28th (Voting Rights restoration), 29th (Presidential Accountability - no pardon power for self or co-conspirators), 30th (Citizens United reversal), 31st (Senate term limits), 32nd (Electoral College abolition), 33rd (SCOTUS term limits), 34th (Social Security and Economic Rights floor), 35th (Two-term president's VP ineligibility), 36th (Felony disqualification from presidency), and 37th (Federal Recall Elections).
How does Project 2029 propose to end gerrymandering?
Project 2029 proposes requiring all states to use independent redistricting commissions for congressional and state legislative maps, with explicit criteria prohibiting partisan advantage as a factor. Federal law would set minimum standards for commission independence, transparency, and community input. It also proposes the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore preclearance requirements for states with histories of voting discrimination.