The top seven seeds have all made it through to the Elite Eight round in the "Best of the Rest" division of Democracy Madness — our tournament where readers are deciding which of 64 ideas for fixing the government they want most.
The only minor upset in the opening round of our final quarter: The notion of conducting more extensive audits of election results, our ninth seed, barely snuck past the idea of creating federal standards for all voting machines, slotted eighth.
Now it's time to whittle it down to four. The voting lasts until Sunday night.
Will using nothing but paper ballots (No. 1) get by those post-election audits? Will providing a steady flow of federal funding for elections (No. 2) best a demand for Congress to spend more time in Washington (No. 7)? Does Congress need more capacity (No. 3) or should kids spend more time learning about civics (No. 6)? Want the District of Columbia to be the 51st state (No. 4) or a code of ethics for the Supreme Court (No. 5)?
These are the questions that await you in this round of the bracket. Which one will join the other three bracket champions who readers have already sent to the Democracy Madness Final Four?
Click "Vote Now" to make your four choices. (You can click the matchups, then each label, for more on the proposals.)
In terms of money flowing through the campaign-finance system, political action committees (PACs) are three times more active than candidates running for reelection or office. That is concentrated political power that leaves many congressional candidates running for reelection or office dependent on PAC support.
