Walking To Fix Our Democracy is a left-of-center activist organization that seeks changes in the political and electoral systems. It sponsors the walk across the country of Rick Hubbard, who in October 2022 began walking from Los Angeles, California to Washington, D.C. in order to raise awareness for left-of-center efforts to federalize election administration.

The organization is a supporter of the “For The People Act” proposal that would enable the federal government to take over the administration of elections. It is part of the Declaration for American Democracy coalition, a coalition of left-of-center to left-wing organizations that advocate a federal takeover of elections and restrictions on campaign and political speech. ¹

The walk across the nation is inspired by the late New Hampshire political activist Doris Haddock, who made a similar walk in support of the McCain-Feingold restrictions on campaign-related speech. ²

Background

Walking To Fix Our Democracy is a left-of-center activist organization that seeks to change the political and electoral system in the United States. It supports numerous changes that it believes are necessary for political reform. ³

The focus of the organization is supporting the walk across the country of retired Vermont attorney Rick Hubbard who began his journey on October 1, 2022 in order to push for major changes to the American political and electoral system. He plans to walk from Los Angeles, California to Washington, D.C. in order to push for his proposed changes. He plans to arrive in Washington, D.C. in December of 2023. After returning to Vermont for the holidays, he plans on returning to Washington, D.C. in 2024 to lobby lawmakers. While he is walking across the country, he plans on giving speeches and meet with activist groups. ⁴

Issue Stances

The organization supports various versions of the “For The People Act,” a federal takeover of the election system. It sees it as a means of eliminating political corruption. ⁵

The organization also supports statehood for the District of Columbia. ⁶

It also seeks to restrict political speech by eliminating the ability to support candidates of their choice through independent financial contributions. Instead, it proposes to create a system of tax rebates to fund candidates. ⁷

It seeks to restrict the right to freedom of association for political parties by restricting their ability to choose their nominees for political office. Instead, it advocates replacing this with open primaries and ranked-choice voting. ⁸

It also advocates for an end to elected representatives drawing legislative and Congressional districts. ⁹

It advocates for the removal of voter integrity laws such as required purges of inactive and dead voters. Instead, it wants to implement automatic voter registration and expand the use of mail-in ballots. ¹⁰

In September 2022, the organization endorsed a U.S. Supreme Court ethics bill that was proposed in Congress. ¹¹

Leadership

The leader of the organization is retired Vermont attorney Rick Hubbard. Hubbard previously walked with “Granny D” for a week when she walked across the country to advocate for the McCain-Feingold campaign finance restriction legislation. ¹²

1. [1]“A Coalition of 240+ Member Organizations Working Together to Make the Promise of Democracy Real for All of Us.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed March 5, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
2. Novak, Alison. “Vermont Man to Walk across the Country to ‘Fix Our Democracy’.” Seven Days. Seven Days, September 20, 2022. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/vermont-man-to-walk-across-the-country-to-fix-our-democracy/Content?oid=36522336
3. About Walking to Fix Our Democracy.” Walking to Fix Our Democracy. Accessed March 6, 2023. https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/about.
4. Novak, Alison. “Vermont Man to Walk across the Country to ‘Fix Our Democracy’.” Seven Days. Seven Days, September 20, 2022. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/vermont-man-to-walk-across-the-country-to-fix-our-democracy/Content?oid=36522336.
5. “Fixes.” Walking to Fix Our Democracy. Accessed March 6, 2023. https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/fixes.
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7. “Fixes.” Walking to Fix Our Democracy. Accessed March 6, 2023. https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/fixes.
8. “Fixes.” Walking to Fix Our Democracy. Accessed March 6, 2023. https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/fixes.
9. “Fixes.” Walking to Fix Our Democracy. Accessed March 6, 2023. https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/fixes.
10. “Fixes.” Walking to Fix Our Democracy. Accessed March 6, 2023. https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/fixes.
11. “50+ Organizations Endorse Supreme Court Ethics Reform Bill.” Demand Justice, September 27, 2022. https://demandjustice.org/50-organizations-endorse-supreme-court-ethics-reform-bill/.
12. Novak, Alison. “Vermont Man to Walk across the Country to ‘Fix Our Democracy’.” Seven Days. Seven Days, September 20, 2022. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/vermont-man-to-walk-across-the-country-to-fix-our-democracy/Content?oid=36522336.