The national political climate of the past few years has posed a serious challenge to the health of our democracy.

As California’s Secretary of State, I’ve been hard at work, championing changes to our elections that make our elections more secure and more accessible for all eligible voters — because our democracy is strongest when all eligible voters have an opportunity to participate.

And I believe these reforms provide a blueprint for the rest of the nation to follow.

Participation is the bedrock of democracy. That’s been the driving philosophy of my term as Secretary of State.

That is why, in 2015, I called for Automatic Voter Registration. Since its launch in April of this year, more than 700,000 previously eligible, but unregistered Californians were added to the rolls in time for the November election. In 2016, I championed the Voter’s Choice Act, which is increasing participation rates by giving voters more options for where, when, and how they can cast their ballot. These policies, along with Pre-registration of 16- and 17-year olds and conditional Same Day Registration drove record-breaking registration and turnout numbers in last month’s election!

But our work can’t stop there.

Defending and strengthening our democracy is a national battle, and our work in California can serve as a framework for voter empowerment nationwide.

The article below further explains the significance of what we’ve done — and the impact we can have nationally. Please read and share to spread the word.

Thank you for your time and attention to this important message. I know you agree that our democracy is worth fighting for.

Alex Padilla

California Secretary of State