Thanks to Danielle Allen, chair of the Cambridge Ward 2 Democratic Committee, for meeting with the Boston Ward 4 Dems and sharing an important proposal aimed at strengthening the state party’s standards of inclusion, engagement, and competitiveness:
Proposal for a MassDems Commission on Healthy Democracy
THE OPPORTUNITY: MassDems is at a position of historic strength. This provides us with an
excellent opportunity to advance the health of democracy in Massachusetts, as standard setters
for the nation in a time of crisis for democracy. We should seek to advance three principles: full inclusion
of BIPOC populations in democratic participation; increased engagement of voters in the Democratic
party; more competitive elections.
THE CHALLENGE: Healthy democracy in Massachusetts needs attention on all three fronts:
full inclusion
● BIPOC participation– in 2020 and 2022 US census data, voting registration rates for
African American, Hispanic & Asian American voters came in below the national average;
● Our candidate ballot access process for statewide and federal offices is the most restrictive
in the country
increased engagement
● 61% of MA voters are no longer in a party and only 29% of voters are currently enrolled in
the Democratic party.
more competitive
● Massachusetts ranks near or at the bottom across the country with regard to our number
of contested elections, and 68% of voters in a recent survey agreed with the statement:
“Democracy would be stronger in Massachusetts if elections here were more competitive,
with more candidates running at all levels, and more incumbents facing challenges.”
THE ACTION STEP: MassDems can be a champion for democracy by establishing a
Commission for Healthy Democracy to find solutions for inclusion, engagement, and
competitiveness. This Commission will study the challenges; run focus groups, listening
sessions, and conduct survey research; study best practices around the country; and source,
explore, and develop solutions and shared targets and KPIs that would determine success on
inclusion, engagement, and competition. The Commission would answer questions like:
● How do we increase registration for communities that have been marginalized?
● How do we take down barriers and roadblocks to people running for office while
protecting candidate quality?
● How do we get more people to register as Democrats? What causes some people
to choose unenrolled? What encourages people to or drives them away from the
Democratic party?
● Should we be focusing on youth voters? If so, how?
Proposal for a MassDems Commission on Healthy Democracy
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1. Either individually or as a committee, please Sign-up via the Supporters Google
Form: https://tinyurl.com/SupportMassDemsCommission
2. Please send an email message of support to:
a. MassDems Chair Steve Kerrigan; Executive Director, Joe Sherlock; and
Senior Political Director, Nigel Simon at contact@massdems.org
3. Please leave a voicemail of support at party headquarters: 617-939-0800
4. Please contact your representatives on the MassDems State Committee to share a
message of support for the Proposal for a Commission on Healthy Democracy.
5. After you have completed these steps, please return to the Google form to record
whom you contacted and when.
