Appendix G: The Restoration Spine

Eighteen Reforms. Four Conditions. One Republic That Can Hold.

A functioning democracy is not a list of policies. It is a system of interdependent conditions that either hold—or collapse together. We do not restore democracy by fixing symptoms. We restore it by rebuilding structure. In this book, we name the structure clearly.

Across the 18 chapters of the Restoration Agenda, we identify four democratic conditions without which no republic can survive:

Consent. Constraint. Function. Trust. These are not abstract values. They are operational tests. Where they fail, democracy fails. Where they hold, democracy holds. This chapter presents the full democratic spine—the 18 reforms, grouped by the four conditions they reinforce.

None of these reforms are optional. None are theoretical. Every one addresses a failure already exploited, a weakness already abused. Together, they form a new foundation. Not for a different America—but for an America that finally lives up to its promise.

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I. Consent: The Power to Choose Government

Without the equal right to vote, speak, organize, and decide, democracy does not exist.

1. Campaign Finance Reform

Restore legislative authority to regulate money in politics. Enact real-time transparency, advertising limits, public financing pilots, and truth-in-campaign rules.

2. Voting Rights Protection

Guarantee universal and equal access to the ballot through automatic registration, national early voting, restored preclearance, and robust federal enforcement.

3. Electoral College Reform

Complete the National Popular Vote Compact, enforce elector fidelity, prohibit substitution schemes, and explore proportional allocation to better reflect the will of voters.

4. Redistricting Reform

Require independent commissions with measurable fairness metrics to draw congressional and state maps. End the gerrymander ratchet by 2030 to preserve democratic choice.

5. Election Certification Integrity

Criminalize false certification attempts, protect election workers from intimidation, and establish nonpartisan federal safeguards to uphold lawful outcomes.