Protecting Our Democracy and Breaking Through Washington Dysfunction
Like many Americans, Michael believes that our democracy is at risk and that Washington’s dysfunction bears much of the blame. That is why he has worked since 2009 to protect the right to vote, improve access to the ballot, and reduce dark money’s influence on our system.
Politicians are public servants who should focus on serving the people—not special interests. Since joining the Senate in 2009, Michael has fought to reform Washington, curb special interests, and strengthen our democracy. Michael has introduced legislation to permanently ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists and to require politicians to close their unused campaign accounts after they are no longer running for office. Michael also supports legislation to prevent members of Congress from trading stocks with inside information, increase transparency and accountability in the campaign finance system and lobbying industry, and hold Supreme Court justices to a clear code of ethics, along with a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.
To strengthen our democracy, Michael has introduced bipartisan legislation to ban partisan gerrymandering, make it easier for college students to vote, and modernize our election system by expanding automatic and same-day voter registration, ensuring every voter can request a mail-in ballot, and protecting state and local election officials.