Democracy Is Power: Reform
Democracy demands more than maintenance. It requires bold action, informed solutions, and unwavering commitment to representation that actually works. The Texas Forward Party refuses to accept a system where meaningful voices are silenced, votes are diluted, and citizens are left powerless.
We approach democratic reform with both pragmatic solutions and revolutionary determination. Our answers emerge from representing every Texan's concerns and needs, combining data driven innovation with proven approaches that create real change in how our policies and systems function at scale.
The problems we face are clear and urgent:
Third parties remain locked out of meaningful participation while the two party duopoly controls every conversation
Gerrymandered districts systematically strip power from your vote, ensuring politicians choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives
Our elected officials perform political theater in Washington while real problems go unsolved
Outdated voting systems create barriers that prevent accessible participation
Disconnected, fragmented information systems leave most Texans unaware of who represents them or what those representatives actually stand for
These aren't isolated issues. They're symptoms of a system designed to concentrate power away from the people it's supposed to serve.
Our solutions reflect what Texans actually want: election reforms that restore power to voters, transparent systems that connect citizens with their representatives, and democratic structures rebuilt to serve people instead of parties. Every Forward candidate champions these reforms because they represent the clearest test of whether you're truly committed to moving Forward.
We're uncompromising on this fundamental principle. Texans deserve their power back, and democracy is power. Our democratic institutions must be strengthened to reverse the polarization and misdirection that have damaged our state. The path forward isn't about compromise with a broken system. It's about building something better.
We can strengthen democracy, and we will do it by pushing election reform across the state at every level that we can. These reforms are simply what the majority of Texan’s want to see. We will first align all our candidates behind this goal, to break down the doors that bar so many amazing local leaders from truly representing their communities. The following are examples of what our candidates need to rally around to give power back to their voters:
Ranked Choice Voting: Eliminates wasteful runoff elections and ensures winners have majority support by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference, with votes redistributed until one candidate reaches 50%.
Lobbying Ban: Stop local governments from using your tax dollars to lobby against you. 83% of Texans support banning taxpayer funded lobbying by local governments.
Independent Redistricting: End gerrymandering by taking map drawing away from politicians and giving it to independent commissions. This ensures districts are drawn fairly based on communities of interest, not political advantage.
Nonpartisan Judicial Selection: Remove party politics from our courts by implementing merit based judicial selection, ensuring judges are chosen for their qualifications rather than their political connections.
Increasing Polling Locations: Expand access to voting by increasing the number of polling locations on Election Day, reducing wait times and making it easier for working families to participate in democracy.
Online Voter Registration: Modernize our registration system to allow secure online registration, making it easier for eligible Texans to register while maintaining election security. 70% of Texans support this common sense reform.
