As Maine’s Senator, David will press for long-overdue legislative reforms to end the gridlock and dysfunction in Washington, and ensure that middle and working-class families in Maine achieve greater success and stability. David plans to do this by working to change our system of governance to better work for everyone, not just the powerful, and to enact legislation that reduces housing, healthcare, transportation, and childcare costs, and expands education, job training, housing and other life-enriching opportunities. 

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Important Legislative Reforms:

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• Passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and other elections-related legislation to improve elections security, increase voter participation, and reinforce the legitimacy of elections results, by:

  • modernizing nationwide voting infrastructure.

  • mandating automatic voter registration, early voting, and no-excuse voting by mail.

  • banning unreasonable voter purges, deceptive politicking, and partisan gerrymandering.

  • reducing the inordinate, unfair influence of excessive funding, including "dark money".

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• Elimination of the U.S. Senate’s filibuster and the ability of individual senators to place holds on executive branch nominees.​​

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• Passage of the Fair Representation Act to foster a more democratic and representative Congress through the establishment of proportionally elected, non-gerrymandered, multi-winner/member U.S. House districts.

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• Creation of an independent, nonpartisan Federal Elections and Ethics Commission with strong oversight and enforcement authority to oversee elections (including redistricting), governmental ethics, and campaign finance reforms.

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• Creation of an independent, nonpartisan Government Planning, Accountability, and Performance Commission comprised of public policy experts uniquely empowered to routinely evaluate, grade, and report on federal agency plans, programs, and budgets, and recommend adjustments when and where necessary. **Note: experts from, though not limited to, the fields of economics, education, physical sciences, medicine, national security, law, public safety, business, labor, and political science.

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• Increased funding for objective, non-partisan public news broadcasting.

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• Enactment of public interest social media rules and requirements that oblige social media platforms to adhere to strict privacy and anti-violence incitement rules and to provide space for important, fact-based public interest information.

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• Expanded civics education mandates and funding.

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• Creation of a national, nonpartisan Civics Education and Information Trust to support expanded civics education and engagement programs and provide objective, fact-based information about important public policies and issues.

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• Increased funding and support for citizenship enhancing national service programs (e.g., Peace Corp, AmeriCorps, Teach for America, etc.) for 18 – 25-year-olds.

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• To the extent that it is permissible legislatively, the fairer allocation of political power in the U.S. Senate so that a state’s political clout is more in-line with its population and the democratic principle of one person one equal vote. The fact that Wyoming, with a population that is 70 times smaller, has the same allocation of political power as California is obscenely undemocratic.

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• To the extent that it is permissible legislatively, a restructuring of the U.S. House of Representatives so that it is comprised of 200+ non-gerrymandered, multi-membered member districts and more than 600 proportionally elected representatives. Like the U.S. Senate, the U.S House of Representatives would benefit from a structural upgrade. A larger, better designed U.S. House would be more democratic and accountable, and more effective than the current version (see reference to the Fair Representation Act listed above).

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Important Constitutional Reforms:

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• Abolish the Electoral College and establish a system of directly electing presidents and include ranked choice voting (RCV) when there are more than two candidates.  Common sense and fairness dictate that the candidate receiving the greatest amount of voter support in a presidential election should be determined to be the winner. ​

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• Guarantee equal rights for women (ERA) and voters. Neither equal nor voting rights are explicitly guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. They should be.

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• Ensure that nothing in the U.S. Constitution could be construed to forbid Congress or the states from regulating and limiting elections campaign contributions and spending. Ratification of the proposed “For Our Freedom Amendment” would allow Congress and the states to lessen the undue influence that money has over our politics and governments.

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• Restructure the U.S. Senate so that the Senate’s allocation of political power is more in-line with a state’s population and the democratic principle of one person one equal vote. The fact that Wyoming, with a population that is 70 times smaller, has the same allocation of political power as California is obscenely undemocratic.

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• Restructure the U.S. House of Representatives so that it is comprised of 200+ non-gerrymandered, multi-membered member districts and more than 600 proportionally elected representatives. Like the U.S. Senate, the U.S House of Representatives would benefit from an upgrade. A larger, better designed U.S. House would be more democratic and accountable, and more effective than the current version.

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• Establish 20-year term limits and a mandatory retirement age requirement of 80 years for U.S. federal court judges, including Supreme Court justices. Term limits and retirement mandates would help to lessen partisan leanings and out-of-step legal decisions.

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• Revise the terms for U.S. senators and representatives, from six- and two-year terms to four-year terms, and impose overall term limits of 20 years. **Note: retired justices, senators, and representatives could be selected to serve as members of the Government Planning, Accountability, and Performance Commission.

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• Streamline the process for amending the U.S. Constitution by simply requiring 60% or more approval of proposed amendments from both houses of Congress and ratifying support from states (as determined by state legislatures or citizen referendum) representing 60% or more of the nation’s population. Our existing constitutional amendment process is exceedingly difficult, making it almost impossible to update our national charter.