The United States, it is said, is the world greatest democracy. However many people will tell you that politics or Washington is broken, caught up in partisan gridlock, and unable to address the challenging problems facing our country. Myriad ideas have been advanced to improve the functioning of our political processes, and there are groups working on facets of this issue ranging from ballot access and campaign finance to voter turnout and voting systems.
Accountability | Campaign Finance | Voting Systems | More
ACCOUNTABILITY
Center
for
Public
Integrity
"nonprofit,
nonpartisan,
tax-exempt
organization
that
conducts
investigative research and
reporting
on public policy issues in the United States and around the world."
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
"a non-profit, progressive
legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable
for their actions."
"a nonpartisan nonprofit
advocacy organization founded in 1970 by John Gardner as a vehicle for
citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to
hold
their elected leaders accountable to the public interest."
"a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law."
"OMB Watch exists to increase government transparency and accountability; to ensure sound, equitable regulatory and budgetary processes and policies; and to protect and promote active citizen participation in our democracy."
coalition "seeks to
advance
the public's right to know and reduce secrecy in government"
Partnership for Public Service
"The Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan
organization that works to revitalize our federal government by
inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way
government works." (succeeded the Council for Excellence in
Government)
Public
Citizen:
Government
Reform
"Public Citizen works to empower ordinary citizens, reduce the influence of big corporations on government, open the government to public scrutiny, and hold public officials accountable for their misdeeds."
Project on Government Oversight
"founded in 1981, POGO is an independent nonprofit that investigates and exposes corruption in order to achieve a more accountable federal government."
"non-profit, nonpartisan organization that uses the power of the Internet to catalyze greater government openness and transparency, and provides new tools and resources for media and citizens, alike."
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
"a portal to the Federal Inspector General
Community whose
primary responsibilities, to the American public, are to detect and
prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and violations of law and to promote
economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the operations of the Federal
Government." +
U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO)
"known as 'the investigative arm of Congress' and 'the
congressional
watchdog.' GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional
responsibilities and helps improve the performance and accountability
of the federal government for the benefit of the American people."
The White House-"Government Reform for Competitiveness and Innovation"
U.S. House
Committee on Oversight
& Government Reform
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland
Security & Governmental Affairs
U.S.
Department
of
Justice:
Freedom
of
Information
Act
See also Reporters Committee
for Freedom of the Press: Federal Open Government Guide
U.S. Department of Justice: Public Integrity Section
United States
Office of Government
Ethics
U.S. House Committee on Standards of
Official Conduct (Ethics Committee)
U.S. Senate Ethics Committee
Cato
Institute:
Center for Representative Government
Center
for
American
Progress:
Open
and
Accountable
Government
White
House:
Government
Reorganization
"...a community of citizens who believe passionately
that public
funding is the single most critical long-term public policy issue our
nation faces. What’s at stake are nothing less than the health of our
democracy, the quality of our leadership, and our government’s ability
to tackle the serious problems that affect us all: health care, energy
policy, education, the environment and the economy."
The Campaign Finance Institute
"conducts objective
research
and education, empanels task forces and makes recommendations for
policy
change in the field of campaign finance."
"a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which works in the areas of campaign finance and elections, political communication and government ethics."
The Center for Responsive Politics (opensecrets.org)
"a non-partisan,
non-profit
research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics,
and its effect on elections and public policy."
"...seeks to facilitate the general public access to information from government and non-government sources on issues of vital relevance to the people. PoliticalMoneyLine also seeks to inform and educate the public about critical issues of accountability, governance, and representation."
Change Congress: Fix Congress First
"Our goal is to restore public trust in our government by passing a hybrid of small-dollar donations and public financing of elections."
"non-profit, non-partisan
organization dedicated to sweeping reform that aims to dramatically
reduce
the role of big special interest money in American politics."
Specifically
advocates Clean Money Campaign Reform which provides "full public
financing
for candidates who agree to spending limits and reject private
contributions."
Public
Citizen:
Money
in
Politics
Sunlight Foundation: Party Time
"a project to track parties for members of Congress or
congressional
candidates that happen all year round in Washington, D.C. and beyond."
Center for Competitive Politics
"to promote and defend citizens' First Amendment political rights of speech, assembly, and petition. This means opposing so-called reformers' efforts to limit campaign contributions, taxpayer funded political campaigns, the "fairness doctrine" in talk radio and other limits on citizens' ability to support the candidates and causes of their choice."
National Institute on Money in State Politics
"the only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
revealing
the influence
of
campaign money on state-level elections and public policy in all 50
states."
The independent regulatory
agency created by Congress in 1975 to enforce the Federal Election
Campaign
Act.
The Brookings
Institution:
Governance Studies-Campaign Finance Reform
CATO Institute: Campaign
Finance
Campaign Finance Blog
(William J. McGinley)
VOTING SYSTEMS
INTEGRITY
Black Box
Voting
nonpartisan, nonprofit,
501c(3) organization...consumer protection group for elections, funded
by citizen donations
"a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, preserving, and improving democracy. Its members are government employees whose profession is to serve in voter registration and elections administration... also known as the National Association of Election Officials."
Pew Center on
the States' electionline.org
"the nation’s only nonpartisan, non-advocacy information clearinghouse and e-newsletter providing up-to-the-minute news and analysis on election reform."
United States Election Assistance Commission
"EAC is an independent, bipartisan commission charged with developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration."
Carter-Baker Commission
on
Federal Election Reform (2005)
MORE
FairVote
"seeks elections that
promote
voter turnout, fair representation, inclusive policy and meaningful
choices
by building on our nation's history of improving upon the American
experiment.
As a catalyst for electoral reforms such as instant runoff voting,
proportional
voting, direct election of the president and automatic voter
registration,
we conduct research, analysis, education and organizing..."
"purpose is to study, analyze and
educate the public regarding its proposal to implement a nationwide
popular election of the President of the United States."
Free and Equal Elections Foundation
"a non-partisan, non-profit public policy advocacy group dedicated to
election reform and improving ballot access laws in the United States."
Ballot Access News (Richard Winger)
Election Law Blog (Rick Hasen)
"to nominate a presidential ticket that answers directly to voters—not the political system."
"catalyze a shift in the political culture from
destructive
polarization to a more respectful, responsible and cooperative search
for solutions."
"overthrow the tyranny of hyper-partisanship that
dominates our
political culture today."
"To rally Americans to
restore
citizen control of government by limiting the terms of politicians at
the
local, state and congressional levels."
Term
Limits
for
the
United
States
Congress
"a national think tank that works to preserve and protect the principles of strictly limited government through information, education, and activism. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of state and individual sovereignty issues, focusing primarily on the decentralization of federal government power as required by the Constitution."
"The Madison Amendment gives States the same power as Congress to propose an individual Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."
over
the
years,
various
groups
have
called
for
a
national
constitutional
convention...
for example:
Change
Congress: CallaConvention.org
"a bipartisan effort to
increase voter participation in our electoral process by moving our
federal
Election Day from the first Tuesday in November to the first Saturday
and
Sunday of the month."
National Youth Rights Association: Voting Age
a voting age of 16...?
National Initiative for Democracy
"proposal which will permit the People to make or change laws by initiative at all levels of government, including at the federal level."
Many Groups
Working on Voter Education and
Participation
PARTY PLATFORMS
Democrats, Republicans and Major Third
Parties
STATE
GOVERNMENT
National
Governors' Association
Council
of State Governments
National
Conference of State Legislatures
Stateline.org
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
National
Association of Counties
National
League of Cities
U.S.
Conference of Mayors
National
Association of Regional Councils
