Voters around the world are growing increasingly skeptical of democracy and dissatisfied with its outcomes. Across twelve high-income democracies in 2024, 64 percent of respondents said that democracy wasn’t working. And for the first time in a generation, autocratic countries outnumber democracies. Why then, in an age of democratic discontent, are ideas for reform not more popular?

Whatever the reason for these global democratic doldrums — and there are many — there is an equal number of ideas to help the world get its democratic groove back. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences created a Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, which advocates for ranked-choice voting, constituent assemblies, and term limits on the Supreme Court. Steven Levinsky and Daniel Ziblatt in their 2023 book Tyranny of the Minority argue for additional broad systemic reforms like abolishing the Electoral College and first-past-the-post elections. Advocates such as Protect Democracy in the United States and the Electoral Reform Society in the United Kingdom push for proportional representation and fusion voting. Civil society seems to agree that “defending democracy requires a positive, future-oriented program to reform it.” The only problem is that people aren’t buying what they are selling.

More than half the world had the opportunity to vote in 2024. Parties from every region and political stripe competed for the office on platforms offering systemic fixes for democratic institutions. The United Kingdom’s July 2024 parliamentary elections brought the Labour Party to power on a platform promising to lower the voting age and abolish the House of Lords — yet turnout hit a historic low of less than 60 percent. In Africa, even though 2024 produced a few bright spots for the democratic process, Afrobarometer data indicate that support for democracy wasn’t what led people to the polls; rather it was corruption, impunity, and deteriorating economic conditions. In France, leftist parties beat back Marine Le Pen, but the majority of the public still felt disillusioned with the system. In the United States, “democracy on the ballot” failed to inspire, and seven states rejected ranked-choice voting.

Read the full article about reforming democracy by Joel Day at Journal of Democracy.