Vote for president and the Senate. But pay attention to these reforms on state ballots, too.

All eyes are on the races for the White House and Senate and the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation hearings. But potentially even more important to the long-term health of our constitutional democracy are reforms on the ballot in states across the country.

Our politics are trapped in a vicious cycle: Political institutions don’t deliver effective governance, leaving voters feeling unheard and disempowered. Over time, people become increasingly disinclined to participate in governance, from the local to the federal levels. Participating less in our collective decision-making diminishes opportunities to encounter fellow Americans with different backgrounds and perspectives. Our civic culture and civil society fragment and tribalize. Groups develop an active dislike of one another.

With 2020 turnout likely to set records, this energy and engagement need to be harnessed to flip a switch on our democracy — to convert our universe’s negative equilibrium to a positive one. We should aspire to a virtuous cycle in which responsive, empowering political institutions are worthy of engagement; where engaged Americans learn more about one another, partner with one another, and rebuild the norms and guardrails that sustain democracies. These include a willingness to forge compromises and to let the losing side play a substantive role in post-election deliberations — even as they don’t lead.