Democracy Reform for Donald Trump's America: A Review Essay

Abstract

Richard Hasen's A Real Right to Vote powerfully critiques barriers to voting and persuasively defends a proposed constitutional amendment to address them. We agree the right to vote is fundamental and share Hasen's urgency for reform. But we also think our greatest threats to democracy today come from more than just the electoral process. In this Review Essay, we argue that Donald Trump's election just as urgently threatens substantive democratic guarantees—like the freedom to dissent, equal citizenship, and the rule of law—that make democratic procedures worth defending. On our view, then, democracy reform must mean more than election reform. To safeguard the full range of democratic values that Trump's ascendance puts in jeopardy, we need to build a constitutional constituency of citizens committed to a politics of democratic defense throughout public life.

Keywords: Democracy, Democracy Reform, Voting Rights, Election Law, Political Theory, Donald Trump, U.S. Constitution