We know the system's fucked. The candidate who spends the most money in an election is the most likely to win. Spending makes the biggest difference in local and state races. As races become more expensive, fewer people run and those who do tend to be independently wealthy. And a majority of Americans want limits on campaign spending.

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Here in California, we've kneecapped our ability to elect local, less well-financed representatives to the Legislature by imposing term limits, which creates incentives for candidates to spend big on their first election and then coast on their incumbent advantage for their remaining terms. By limiting Assemblymembers to three terms (six years), we favor candidates who already have clout, financing, and institutional experience, rather than elevating people who represent our communities and giving them the opportunity to learn to govern. And in an Assemblymember's or Senator's final term, they can no longer be held accountable to voters in the upcoming election.

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Not only that, but our electoral process is inaccessible to most people by design. Neither the California Secretary of State nor local agencies clearly lay out the steps for running for office at any level, and attempting to contact either for clarification often results in confusion and misdirection of resources for people who are new to the process. From things as simple as an unfriendly user interface on the Secretary of State’s website, to the legalese that the information is written in, to the fees, costs, and extensive paperwork associated with a campaign, running for office disadvantages most people versus those who’ve chosen to pursue a career in politics.

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And even once elected, our legislative processes are no different. Legislation is a specialized job, rather than the right and responsibility of engaged and informed citizens. Crafting legislation is the purview of the folks in Sacramento, not the people in the communities most directly affected by those folks’ decisions. Whether a bill lives or dies or is vetoed by the Governor, legislation is made at the discretion of 121 people in a state of 40 million. 

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Our state is home to 1 in 8 Americans, the fifth highest GDP in the world, and the most billionaires of any state. At the same time, we have the highest levels of poverty and inequality, “the most billionaires” means 163 people, and those 163 people pay to get many of our legislators elected. We have one Assemblymember for every 500,000 Californians.

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The system is designed to keep us out, but our democracy is supposed to belong to us. It’s time to end minority rule of our state government.