Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories

The Great American Rewrite: Time to Hit Refresh on the U.S. Constitution

Opinion

U.S. Constitution

As concerns grow about Project 2025 and a potential Article V Constitutional Convention, the #unifyUSA movement proposes Citizens’ Assemblies and a “Great American Rewrite” to renew the U.S. Constitution through a democratic, citizen-led process.

alancrosthwaite/Getty Images

We are standing at the edge of a precipice—and the Constitution, once a beacon of hope, is being hijacked as a prop in an anti-constitutional power grab.

On June 14, 2025, I watched with a grief-stricken heart as tanks rolled down Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. It was billed as a patriotic military parade. But behind the red, white, and blue spectacle lies a dark agenda: a coordinated effort to dismantle our democracy from within. At the heart of this effort is the Project 2025 movement—a sweeping agenda to concentrate power in the executive branch, erode the rule of law, curtail civil liberties, and roll back hard-fought rights. Now, there is growing momentum for a dark money-controlled Article V Constitutional Convention that could place our founding document into the hands of these partisan extremists and anti-democratic dark money interests.


We saw the signs. We've read the playbook. And we say: Not on our watch.

#unifyUSA is a rising inter-partisan citizens' movement committed to a different path. We're not here to defend a broken system. We're here to reimagine it. That's why we've launched The Great American Rewrite—a nationwide effort to hit refresh on the U.S. Constitution through a democratic process rooted in the voice and will of the people.

The foundation of this effort is the creation of State Citizens' Assemblies—deliberative bodies of everyday Americans who reflect the full diversity of each state. Unlike the potential Article V convention driven by political elites, these assemblies aren't run by politicians or pundits. They are guided by the principles of fairness, inclusion, and public trust. While partisan forces seek to capture constitutional change through traditional political channels, the proposed State Citizens Assemblies create an alternative pathway where citizens engage in deep listening, honest dialogue, and collaborative problem-solving about fundamental democratic reforms.

Consider how a Citizens' Assembly might tackle campaign finance reform—an issue that unites Americans across party lines who are frustrated by corporate influence in politics. Rather than leaving this to politicians with conflicts of interest, ordinary citizens could deliberatively examine various approaches, from public financing to transparency requirements, and craft solutions that serve the public rather than special interests.

From Colorado to South Carolina, Maryland to Nevada, citizens are coming together across lines of party, race, generations, and geography to accelerate this work of democratic renewal. We are not alone in this vision. The Grand Bargain Project represents a cross-ideological effort to create consensus on shared constitutional principles, including equal representation, checks and balances, individual liberty, rule of law, ethical governance, and commitment to the common good. These frameworks demonstrate that Americans of different political perspectives can find substantial agreement on democratic fundamentals when they engage in good-faith dialogue rather than partisan combat.

That's why we are calling on every state in the nation to establish and convene a State Citizens' Assembly by April 2026. These assemblies will lay the groundwork for a National Citizens' Assembly and a public vote on a refreshed Constitution by July 4, 2026—our nation's 250th birthday. While this timeline is ambitious, the urgency of our democratic crisis demands we begin this vital work immediately, building momentum state by state until we reach critical mass for national transformation. If we let an authoritarian regime take hold, it could entrench its power for tragic decades ahead.

This movement explicitly welcomes skeptics and conservatives who worry about constitutional changes. We share concerns about preserving what works in our system while addressing what clearly doesn't. The Citizens' Assembly process itself provides safeguards through its emphasis on deliberation, diverse representation, and transparency that traditional political processes lack.

We don't need to tear down the Constitution. We need to breathe new life into it, reclaiming it as a living promise rather than allowing it to become a weapon in partisan warfare. That promise must be forged in public, by citizens—not captured in private by dark money, elites, or extremists.

The Great American Rewrite is not about left versus right. It's about bottom-up versus top-down. It's about ordinary Americans taking back the authorship of our democracy.

Here's how you can join us: Call on your Governor and State Legislators to launch a Citizens Assembly in your state. After signing, you'll be part of a movement that will drive the transformation from a dark money-driven democracy to a participatory citizen-driven democracy. This is how we build the infrastructure for genuine democratic renewal—one citizen, one community, one state at a time.

The future is calling. We can be the answer. This is our moment to choose authorship over apathy.

America. Under New Management. Ours.


Dr. Paul Zeitz is the Co-Founder of #unifyUSA, an inter-partisan citizens' movement dedicated to Hit Refresh the U.S. Constitution through Citizens’ Assemblies and author of Hit Refresh on the U.S. Constitution: A Revolutionary Roadmap for Fulfilling on the Promise of Democracy and Revolutionary Optimism: 7 Steps for Living as a Love-Centered Activist.

Read More

Person writing math equations on a chalkboard.

Discover how mathematics can help build fairer democracy through ranked choice voting, proportional representation, better districting, citizens’ assemblies, and AI.

Kenishirotie/Getty Images

American Democracy Needs a Mathematical Revolution

Democracy, we like to think, runs on ideals like freedom, equality, the consent of the governed. But look under the hood and you'll find something less lofty – mathematics.

The idea that democracy depends on math is not new. From ancient Greece onward, votes had to be counted and seats had to be divided. Mathematics even shaped America’s founding. The Declaration of Independence is, at its core, a mathematical document. It opens with axioms—that all people possess certain unalienable rights—and then asserts a theorem: the British rule must end. And because no theorem is complete without a proof, the Declaration supplies one: "To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

Keep ReadingShow less
How an 1876 Massacre of Black Men in South Carolina Turned Racial Terror Into Political Power

This statue on the grounds of the South Carolina State House honors violent segregationist Ben Tillman, who also served as governor and U.S. senator.

How an 1876 Massacre of Black Men in South Carolina Turned Racial Terror Into Political Power

As the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary, its citizens commemorate a democracy more diverse, free and inclusive than it’s ever been. The path to this milestone was imperfect and paved in blood and suffering. Still, few of the revelers will likely pay heed to the anniversary of another historic event: the 150th anniversary of the July 1876 Hamburg massacre.

The massacre, which took place in Hamburg, South Carolina, began as a dispute between a local Black militia and two white citizens over whether the latter could cross the group’s centennial Fourth of July parade. The militia leader, Doc Adams, was later charged with blocking a public highway.

Keep ReadingShow less
A crowd of supporters holding signs behind Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed as he stands and speaks at a podium outside in front of a crowd.

The crowd cheers as Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed speaks during the "People vs. the Powerful" rally in Lansing, Michigan, on July 19, 2026.

Rosem Morton for The 19th

Who Is Electable? Michigan’s Senate Primary Asks a Familiar Question.

DETROIT — Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a top Black House Democrat, was making the case for a moderate politician running on boosting jobs and manufacturing. Six years ago, it was to crowds in his home state, arguing that Joe Biden was the best positioned to win in a general election. This time, it was on a stage in Detroit, for a candidate in one of 2026’s most hotly contested Senate primaries.

“I know what it takes to energize Democratic voters. I know she has what it takes to energize Democratic voters, and we need that,” Clyburn said alongside Rep. Haley Stevens, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, at a Teamsters hall in Detroit on Friday before the two rallied alongside Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Voter receives a pen from poll worker at polling station.

A civic petition calling for constitutional restraint, civil discourse, bipartisan cooperation, and equal justice to strengthen American democracy and national unity.

SDI Productions/Getty Images

A Contemporary Olive Branch Petition

To the President of the United States, the Leaders of the Congress, and Our Fellow Americans Entrusted with the Powers of Government:

When, in the ordinary course of a free republic, disagreements arise among citizens concerning the proper exercise of power, it is neither unusual nor dishonorable that earnest convictions should differ. Such diversity has long been the strength of our nation, for liberty has never depended upon unanimity of opinion, but upon mutual respect under a common Constitution.

Keep ReadingShow less