WE ARE WITNESSING a watershed moment in our democracy. Long-term erosion of our institutions and civic culture has snowballed into dangerous antidemocratic actions nationally at the heart of our government.

In Massachusetts, we have an opportunity and responsibility to build a positive alternative — a state-level democracy that actually responds to and delivers better results for people. With the Massachusetts Legislature just starting to kick its new session into gear, it’s crucial that our legislators meet the moment and make pro-democracy legislation a priority.

Two pieces of good news. First, the public will for democracy renovation is there. Massive support last November for Question 1, allowing the state auditor to audit the Legislature — 70 percent of Massachusetts voters — was a direct call for more transparency, accountability, and responsiveness from our Legislature. Second, there’s a clear map to create the progress we need.

Advocates across our state, including my organization, Partners In Democracy, are calling for a set of popular, common-sense reforms that will give voters more voice and ensure our state government is accountable and responsive to Massachusetts communities.

Pro-democracy legislators are already championing bills on many of these issues. Now, we need to make sure these bills get passed — so our democracy starts working for people, earning their trust, and contributing to a foundation of resilience nationwide.

At the top of the list is same-day voter registration — which allows people to register to vote and cast their ballot all at once, rather than having to separately register ahead of Election Day. Same-day registration massively removes barriers to voting for renters, students, and anyone busy — from folks with a demanding work schedule, to parents and others with caregiving responsibilities — and it’s hugely popular. Twenty-two states have some form of same-day voter registration, including Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut, and it’s time for Massachusetts to catch up.

While we’re at it, we should pass other reforms to boost voting access — like requiring stronger checks to ensure polling places are accessible for voters with disabilities; reducing confusion by making sure everyone’s ballot looks the same, whether you’re voting by mail or in person; and ending the practice of kicking people off the voter rolls for not responding to the annual municipal census form mailed out by each Massachusetts community. All these bills are on the table this session.

Second, allowing cities and towns to implement ranked choice voting, if local voters so choose, should be a priority this session — to rebuild trust and give voters more voice. Ranked choice voting boosts voice and choice by allowing people to vote for multiple candidates, in order of preference, so you still have a say even if your top choice doesn’t win.

It bolsters accountability by ensuring that elected leaders actually have to win the support of a majority of voters, and it’s already in use in cities like Cambridge. Recently, Acton, Amherst, Arlington, Brookline, Concord, Lexington, and Northampton all voted to start using ranked choice voting in their local elections. But during the last legislative session, the Legislature failed to approve these cities’ petitions — meaning that all these communities are still waiting for permission to enact this popular reform. Now, there’s a powerful movement to implement ranked choice voting in Boston — where 60 percent of voters supported the reform when it failed as a 2020 statewide ballot question. If we want to rebuild trust in democracy, we need to make sure that when voters speak loud and clear, our Legislature takes action to support them, rather than standing in their way.

Third, if we want a healthy democracy, voters need meaningful choice and competition on the ballot — at every stage of an election. That’s accountability. We need leaders to know that we expect them to do their jobs and deliver on our needs, and that we have the means to vote them out if they don’t.

Yet in 2024, Massachusetts voters had no choice on the ballot in a majority of legislative races. That’s shocking — but there are clear reasons why this issue is so prevalent. In most legislative districts here, one party — usually Democrats — is dominant. This means that the general election is almost always either lopsided or uncontested. The real race happens in the primary, which is usually a low-turnout affair, and someone can win a multi-candidate contest with just 20 or 30 percent of the primary vote. Since most districts have no competitive election in November, often fewer than 10 percent of all registered voters actually decide who holds office. This persistent lack of competitiveness is a self-fulfilling prophecy: People are discouraged from running for office in the first place, so even at the stage of the primaries, many seats are uncontested.

But there are ways to fix this — like the top 4 elections model, similar to the system that’s in place in Alaska. Under top 4, instead of partisan primaries, everyone votes for their preferred candidate all together in one combined primary  — and then the top four finishers go on to the general election. That means voters are guaranteed meaningful choice in the general election — and because the general election under this model is held using ranked choice voting, a candidate must earn the support of a majority of voters to win.

Updating our election system to top 4 would give all voters more voice and choice in both the primary and the general election — all while providing an incentive for candidates to appeal to a broader group of voters, beyond the small base needed to win a partisan primary.

We don’t have to settle for elections where there’s no real choice. We can repair our system so our leaders are accountable and motivated to go the extra mile for our communities.

Finally, after legislators are elected, we need to make sure they are empowered to represent their constituents. Today, an outdated stipend system for committee chairs and other posts allows the House speaker and Senate president to give and take away stipends of up to $100,000 a year, completely at their personal discretion.

On any given decision, legislators have to weigh an understandably difficult decision: please leadership now, or sacrifice their financial and political interests. A better system of legislative pay, advanced by a bipartisan group of reformers, would empower legislators to vote their conscience and their constituents’ interests as opposed to having their economic well-being tied to loyalty to legislative leadership.

If Massachusetts implements changes like these, they would directly benefit Massachusetts communities — which are crying out for meaningful action on the crises we’re facing. In the 2023-2024 session, the Legislature was ultimately unable to pass bills on key issues. Whether it’s housing, climate, or jobs and support for businesses, we need a more responsive Legislature to tackle shared problems. Pro-democracy reforms can deliver this.

This legislative session, we have a critical opportunity to build a democracy that responds to and delivers on people’s needs, earns their trust, and rewards their stewardship — creating a virtuous cycle of engagement, a culture of democratic commitment, and a model for the country.

It’s understandable that legislative leaders might be reluctant to make changes that would increase their own accountability and loosen their grip on the State House. But this moment in our country calls each of us to demonstrate a deeper commitment to democracy. A growing supermajority in our Commonwealth is calling on us to build a healthier democracy. It is time our Legislature listens. 

Jerren Chang is the president and CEO of Partners In Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to renovate our democracy in Massachusetts and around the country.