Washington, DC – Keith Ellison unveiled his platform for the Democratic National Committee. In the platform, Ellison lays out his plan for returning Democrats to elected offices across the country at all levels of government – from city council to governor to the presidency.

“We must energize Democratic activists across the country and give them the tools to build the Party from the bottom-up,” said Ellison. “Beyond a 50 state strategy, we need a 3,143 county strategy. DNC members are on the front lines in these states and counties and we must harness their experience and give them a meaningful voice as we set the direction for the Party. In a DNC Chair, they need a partner and an advocate who will ensure they have the resources they need to win. This platform does just that and will give Democratic voters a reason to show up at the polls in 2017, 2018, and beyond.”

Portions of the platform include the following (view the entire platform here):

Putting Voters First

  • Progressive Partners:  Engage with progressive allies in party rebuilding, including vision and message development, constituency outreach, and grassroots mobilization.
  • Organizing Best Practices:  Study and disseminate best practices for effective field organizing to candidates on all levels. Resurrect DNC-led national training programs.

Beyond the Beltway

  • Strengthened State and Local Parties:  Increase base funding for state parties, with additional dedicated funding available for state and local parties to apply for to build programs for core work, with metrics for success.
  • Redistricting:  Convene all interested stakeholders to develop a shared, aggressive strategy to win back state legislatures and governors for 2020 redistricting to create fair and impartial maps.
  • State and Local Toolkit:  The DNC should provide additional resources to help state and local parties succeed, including, but not limited to, assisting with development of political, field, and communications plan, expand technology tools, and helping states build effective state-based fundraising program. 

Focus on Working People

  • Labor as a Full Partner:  Build meaningful relationships with the labor community as a strategic and tactical partner in the fight for the interests of working people.
  • Low-Dollar Fundraising:  Actively pursue grassroots fundraising, setting a goal that low-dollar contributions from everyday Americans account for 33% of revenue.

Accountability and Inclusion

  • Two-Way Communication:  Open up lines of communication within the Party, ensuring that all have a voice in how their Party operates.
  • Transparency:   Regular briefings and programmatic updates from the Chair and Department Directors to the DNC Executive Committee and state party chairs.

Technology and Data

  • Polling and Analytics Post-Mortem:   Convene a working group to assess polling and analytics from this cycle and create an executable plan to improve performance.
  • Cybersecurity:  Create a permanent cybersecurity advisory group to stay ahead of future cyber-attacks. Expand membership to include technologists and policy experts from the business community and government.