RepresentUs scored major presidential candidates based on their stated positions on these three principles:

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

End voter purges, pass automatic voter registration, expand early voting, same-day registration & vote at home options, and restore the vote for returning citizens with past felony convictions.

Make Elections
 Secure & Competitive

Stop foreign meddling in our elections, end gerrymandering, and pass Ranked Choice Voting.

End
 Political Corruption

End secret donations, close the revolving door between government and the lobbying industry, and create democracy vouchers or small donor matching programs that make politicians dependent on voters instead of big-money interests.

You can mouse overtap each grade to see how the candidates earned their marks.

Candidate

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Secure & Competitive Elections

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Joe Biden

Supports automatic voter registration and the For The People Act, and passed an executive order to promote access to voting. Has not directly commented on ending voter purges, expanding early voting, same-day registration or restoring the vote for past felons.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Supports prohibition of foreign influence on US elections and gerrymandering. Has not directly commented on ranked choice voting.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Supports public financing of elections, overturning citizens united, and limiting/banning political donations. Has not directly commented on secret donations.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Ron DeSantis

Supports voter purgers, limiting early voting, limiting voting from home, and required payment of fees and fines for past felons before voting.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Opposes ranked choice voting. Has not directly commented on gerrymandering or foreign meddling.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not directly commented on relevant reforms, but his campaign is largely funded by big money donors.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Chris Christie

Looking at the history of bills Chris Christie had vetoed during his time as Governor, it is clear that Christie is not in support of Protecting voters rights. A specific example of a bill he vetoed as Governor would be the Democracy act which was working on enabling automatic voter registration, expanding early day voting, and strengthening the option of at home voting.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Nikki Haley

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Verbally opposes foreign meddling in elections while accepting funds from foreign lobbyists. Has not commented on ranked choice voting or gerrymandering.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not commented on the revolving door, democracy vouchers, or secret donations, but has received secret donations in the past.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Asa Hutchinson

Passed a number of bills that inhibited voting as governor of Arkansas.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Has not commented on ranked choice voting or gerrymandering, but has voiced opposition to foreign meddling in elections.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Robert F. Kennedy

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Supports ending foreign meddling in elections. Has not directly commented on gerrymandering or ranked choice voting. 

Secure & Competitive Elections

Supports ending secret donations, and closing the revolving door. Has not directly commented on democracy vouchers.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Vivek Ramaswamy

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Donald Trump

Opposes all relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Opposes all relevant reforms.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not expressed support for ending secret donations or democracy vouchers. Implemented an executive order to minimize the revolving door upon entering office, then repealed it right before his term ended.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Cornel West

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Marianne Williamson

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Supports ranked choice voting and ending gerrymandering. Has not directly commented on foreign meddling in elections.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Supports public financing of federal campaigns and closing the revolving door but has not shown definitive support of ending secret donations.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

we'll never forget you ????

Candidate

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Secure & Competitive Elections

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Doug Burgum

During his time as Governor, Burgum has shown strong support for a number of laws that hinder voter turnout, thus he is not in support of protecting the right to vote.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

While Burgum has not spoken about many of the aspects in this category, he has shown support for ranked choice voting by vetoing bill 1273 which would have prohibited ranked choice voting.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Larry Elder

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Opposes closing the revolving door. Has not commented on secret donations, nor democracy vouchers, but is a large recipient of Big Pharma donations.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Will Hurd

Has not directly commented on any relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Supported the honest elections act in Texas, which would protect election integrity from foreign meddling. Has not directly commented on ranked choice voting or gerrymandering.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not directly commented on the revolving door, democracy vouchers or ending secret donations.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Mike Pence

Opposes all relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Does not support the elimination of gerrymandering. Has not directly commented on foreign meddling or ranked choice voting.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Opposes ending secret donations and any limitations on donations from corporations or individuals. Has not commented directly on the revolving door but participated in the Trump administration when they repealed the lobbying restriction at the end of Trump’s term.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Tim Scott

Opposed the For the People Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Has not commented on any of the relevant reforms.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Opposes public funding for elections. Has not commented on gerrymandering or secret donations.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Candidate

Francis Suarez

Has not directly commented on any relevant reforms.

Protect Our
 Right to Vote

Has not directly commented on ranked choice voting or foreign meddling or gerrymandering, but allowed a drastic redistricting in Miami as mayor, despite many protests.

Secure & Competitive Elections

Has not directly commented on the revolving door, democracy vouchers or ending secret donations, but violated an ethics law in receiving expensive gifts from big businesses in Miami.

End Political
 Corruption

Pledged to #FixDemocracyFirst

Take Action

Add Your Name: Urge Presidential Candidates to Pledge to #FixDemocracyFirst

To Presidential Candidates,

I’m writing to urge you to #FixDemocracyFirst, and commit to passing comprehensive democracy reform in the first 90 days of your administration. Taking the pledge means that you will:

  • Protect Our Right to Vote by ending voter purges, passing automatic voter registration, expanding early voting, same-day registration & vote at home options, and restoring the vote for returning citizens with past felony convictions.
  • Make Elections Secure & Competitive by stopping foreign meddling in our elections, ending gerrymandering, & passing Ranked Choice Voting.
  • End Political Corruption by ending secret donations, closing the revolving door between government and the lobbying industry, and creating democracy vouchers or small donor matching programs that make politicians dependent on voters instead of big-money interests.

Take the pledge to #FixDemocracyFirst and stand with the 77% of voters who believe that corruption in government is a top issue facing our country. Silence and inaction on this critical problem cannot continue.

Thank you for adding your name to urge presidential candidates to address comprehensive democracy reform in the first 90 days of their administration!

Methodology

How it works: Candidates are graded on their support for the reforms listed in the #FixDemocracyFirst pledge, as divided into three overarching principles. We believe all of these changes are crucial to unrigging our broken system. For the sake of consistency, we treat individual reforms equally: supporting more of these policies gets candidates a higher score—and only when they support the whole package do they get an A.

We compiled candidate stances from their campaign websites, what they’ve said on social media, on the campaign trail, in interviews, or from their support of recent legislation.

Campaigns are dynamic. We welcome your feedback—if you see a candidate’s position has changed, send us an email at info@represent.us with the new information.

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