NEW CONSTITUTION
PROJECT

The United States Constitution was designed for a world of slow communication, agrarian economies, and 13 coastal states. It has served us for over 230 years, but structural problems have become impossible to ignore:

• Electoral distortion: Presidential candidates focus on a handful of battleground states while ignoring the majority of Americans. Small states have massively disproportionate Senate power.
• Gerrymandering: Politicians choose their voters instead of voters choosing representatives, creating safe seats and eliminating accountability.
• Money in politics: Campaign financing gives disproportionate influence to wealth, undermining equal representation.
• Governance gaps: No framework for AI regulation, digital privacy, climate crisis, or 21st-century challenges our founders couldn't anticipate.
• Institutional capture: Systems designed to prevent tyranny are vulnerable to coordinated authoritarian movements.

We face rapid technological change, climate instability, and unprecedented concentration of economic and political power. Democracy must evolve to preserve freedom, dignity, and stability for future generations.

Imagine a democracy where every vote counts equally, regardless of where you live. Where your representative actually represents your values, not just your zip code. Where young people complete their education debt-free after serving their community. Where AI systems that affect your life can be held accountable in court. Where clean water, healthcare, and housing aren't luxuries but constitutional guarantees.

Imagine a government that can't be captured by wealth, can't declare emergencies without checks, can't hide behind immunity. A democracy designed for the world we actually live in — not the one that existed in 1789.

This isn't fantasy. Dozens of democracies have successfully redesigned their constitutions. We can too. But only if we build it together.

This is Scaffolding, Not a Finished Bridge

This project is not presenting a completed constitution for you to accept or reject. Instead, we're building participatory infrastructure for constitutional redesign — a process that will take years, maybe decades, and requires genuine input from millions of Americans.

Status Markers

Throughout this document, you'll see three types of markers:

Foundational Core principles we believe are essential (but open to persuasion)

Proposed Specific mechanisms we're suggesting for discussion

Community Input Needed Areas where we need collective design work

The Path Forward

• Phase 1 (Now): Launch conversation, gather initial proposals
• Phase 2: Synthesize input, create working groups on key topics
• Phase 3: Expert review panels (constitutional scholars, technologists, civic leaders)
• Phase 4: Iterative drafting with public comment periods
• Phase 5: Build state-level coalitions for constitutional convention path

Timeline: This is a long-term movement. Meaningful constitutional change requires building consensus across ideological lines, which doesn't happen in election cycles. Think decades, not years.

Transparency Commitment

Every version of this document will be publicly tracked with full revision history. All community proposals will be summarized and addressed. Expert advisory input will be published. This is a transparent, participatory process — or it's nothing.

These principles guide our constitutional redesign work. They represent our starting values, open to challenge and refinement through dialogue.

• Human dignity is the primary organizing principle of governance
• Democracy must be resilient against authoritarian capture and institutional decay
• Rights must evolve alongside technological civilization while preserving core freedoms
• Government legitimacy depends on authentic participation and radical transparency
• Future generations deserve representation in present decisions
• Human and artificial intelligence must coexist under clear governance frameworks
• Economic opportunity and political voice should not depend on birth circumstances

Article I — The People & Fundamental Rights

Rights that are both aspirational goals and justiciable claims:

• Right to clean air, water, and food — Environmental protection as constitutional mandate
• Right to healthcare — Access to medical care regardless of economic status
• Right to housing — Shelter as basic human necessity, not market commodity alone
• Right to education — Lifelong learning access for all citizens
• Right to safety — Freedom from violence, coercion, and environmental hazards
• Freedom of speech, belief, and association — Traditional First Amendment protections with digital age adaptations
• Equal protection under law — No discrimination based on identity characteristics
• Economic opportunity access — Fair chance to participate in economic life
• Digital privacy and data protection — Fourth Amendment equivalent for the information age

Article II — Legislature

Proposed System: Hybrid Proportional Representation

Combining two proven international models:

• Single Transferable Vote (STV) with multi-member districts for local connection
• Open List System allowing voters to choose both party AND preferred candidates

Key Features:

• Ranked choice voting to ensure majority support
• Minimum three candidates per seat to prevent uncontested races
• Coalition governance requirement — no single party can govern alone without 60%+ support
• Public campaign funding to reduce wealth influence
• Representatives accountable to voters through party lists, not just geographic territories

Rationale: Geographic districts create safe seats where incumbents face no real competition. This removes accountability and enables extremism. Proportional systems require parties to appeal to broader coalitions and ensure every vote matters, regardless of where you live.

Addressing Concerns: Yes, this means Wyoming loses disproportionate Senate power. The counterbalance: all Americans gain equal representation, and complete freedom of movement means you can live wherever you choose. Tax revenue from high-population states should translate to proportional political voice.

Article III — Executive

• Distributed executive authority — Multiple executive officials elected separately to prevent power concentration
• Term limits — Maximum two terms for any executive position
• No legal immunity — Presidents and executive officials subject to law like any citizen
• Emergency powers require multi-branch approval — No unilateral emergency declarations
• Full transparency requirements — Tax returns, financial interests, communications publicly disclosed

Article IV — Judiciary

• Expanded Supreme Court — 15 justices to reduce individual justice impact and enable rotation
• 18-year term limits — Staggered appointments ensure regular turnover
• Mandatory ethics enforcement — Binding code of conduct with independent oversight
• Guardian role of constitutional rights — Explicit mandate to protect individual rights against majority tyranny
• Specialized constitutional courts — Dedicated tribunals for AI governance, digital rights, environmental law

Article V — Elections, Civic Participation & AI Governance

Electoral Reforms:

• Abolish Electoral College Foundational — Direct national popular vote for President
• Secure national election standards — Federal minimum standards for access, security, and counting
• Election Day as national holiday — Remove barriers to participation

Civic Participation:

AI & Corporate Governance:

Two principles we're proposing:

1. AI companies liable for AI system actions — Corporate responsibility for deployed systems
2. AI systems as limited legal entities — Like corporations, AI systems can hold property, enter contracts, and be sued under certain circumstances

What's Not Here (Yet)

Notable topics that need community development:

• Federalism and state-federal relations — Balance of power between national and local government
• Separation of church and state — Modern interpretation of religious freedom and government neutrality
• Second Amendment equivalent — Gun rights, public safety, and regulatory frameworks
• Amendment process — How this constitution itself can be changed
• Transition mechanisms — How to move from current to new constitution without legal chaos
• International relations and treaties — Executive vs. legislative authority in foreign policy

These aren't omissions by oversight — they're invitations for collaborative design.

Submit Your Proposal

Help shape the next version of this framework. Your input will be reviewed, synthesized, and incorporated into future drafts with full attribution.

Community Discussion (Demo)

Sample Question: "Should coalition governments require minimum ideological diversity across party lines?"

Get Involved Beyond Proposals

• Join a working group — Deep dive on specific constitutional topics (coming soon)
• Regional organizing — Build local coalitions for constitutional convention advocacy
• Expert advisory panels — Contribute specialized knowledge in law, technology, economics, etc.
• Translation and accessibility — Make this project available in all languages and formats

Contact: [Contact information to be added]

Draft Version 0.1 — February 6, 2026

Initial public framework release by Joshua Ross Gottlieb

What's in this version:

• Core principles and foundational values
• Initial structural proposals for five articles
• Status markers showing what's settled vs. open for design
• Participatory mechanisms for community input

Future versions will include:

• Synthesized community proposal summaries with attribution
• Detailed revision logs showing what changed and why
• Expert review panel findings and recommendations
• Voting results and impact tracking on contested provisions
• Working group outputs on specific constitutional questions

Isn't this impossible? The Constitution has never been replaced.

True for the US, but dozens of democracies have successfully rewritten their constitutions in the past 50 years. Iceland crowdsourced a new constitution in 2011. South Africa built one of the world's most progressive constitutions in 1996. Tunisia did it in 2014. Ecuador in 2008. It's been done — we have models to learn from.

Article V of the current Constitution allows for a constitutional convention called by 2/3 of state legislatures (34 states). It's designed to be difficult, not impossible. This is a long-term movement, not a short-term campaign.

How is this different from partisan reform proposals?

This isn't a left-wing or right-wing project. We're addressing structural failures that frustrate people across the political spectrum: gerrymandering, money in politics, lack of accountability, outdated governance for modern challenges.

We're building participatory infrastructure for collaborative design. Your conservative neighbor and your progressive coworker both have input. The goal is a constitution that serves all Americans, not one party.

What happens to existing laws and rights during transition?

Excellent question, and one we need community input on. The transition mechanism would likely include:

• All existing federal laws remain in effect unless they contradict the new constitution
• Current rights are preserved and expanded, never diminished
• Courts continue operating with transition protocols
• Phased implementation over several years, not overnight replacement

This is why "Transition Mechanisms" is marked as needing community design work. We won't replace the Constitution without a clear, safe path from here to there.

Who is Joshua Ross Gottlieb? Why should I trust this?

I'm a citizen who believes our democracy needs modernization. I'm initiating this conversation, but I don't own it — the community does. My role is to build the scaffolding and facilitate participation.

You shouldn't trust this based on who started it. You should evaluate the ideas on their merits, contribute your own improvements, and help shape something better. That's the whole point — this is participatory, not top-down.

As this grows, we'll form advisory panels of constitutional scholars, technologists, economists, and civic leaders. Transparency and expert review are built into the process.

How will you prevent this from being co-opted by extremists?

Through the same mechanisms that make good governance work: transparency, broad participation, expert review, and safeguards against authoritarian capture (which are literally built into the proposed framework).

The proposals themselves include protections like distributed executive authority, coalition governance requirements, and checks on emergency powers. We're designing against authoritarian takeover, not enabling it.

What if I disagree with some of your proposals?

Perfect. That's exactly why we're doing this participatory process. Submit a proposal explaining what you'd change and why. Join the discussion. Help us design something better.

The status markers show what's "Foundational" vs "Proposed" vs "Community Input Needed" for a reason. Very little is set in stone. Your thoughtful disagreement makes this stronger.

How can I stay updated as this evolves?

Sign up for our newsletter below to receive updates when new versions are released, working groups form, and major milestones are reached. All updates will also be posted in the Version History section.

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Contact Form

Have questions? Want to collaborate? Interested in forming a working group? Reach out directly.

Direct Contact

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 310-968-3120

Response time: We aim to respond to all inquiries within 48-72 hours. For urgent matters, please call directly.

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