“Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport: Grace Rauh Sounds the Alarm”

Fighting for the Vote: Grace Rauh Champions Democracy on the Good Government Show

In a compelling episode of The Good Government Show, host Dave Martin sat down with Grace Rauh, Executive Director of Citizens Union, to talk about voter access, electoral reform, and why democracy in New York City still needs fixing. Rauh, a former political journalist, now leads the city’s oldest good government group—founded in 1897 to combat the corruption of Tammany Hall—and she’s bringing that same reform-minded energy to modern challenges like low voter turnout and closed primaries. “Good government is accountable, it’s ethical—but it’s also effective,” she told Martin.

The episode aired as Mayor Eric Adams’ administration faces ethics scandals, and Rauh didn’t shy away from calling for higher standards. She stressed the urgent need for structural reforms: shifting city elections to presidential years to boost turnout, expanding ranked choice voting, and opening New York’s closed primaries to the one million independents currently shut out of the process. “We’re shutting out the fastest-growing group of voters,” she said. “More participation means more accountability, and that’s what this city needs.”

Rauh made the case that the city’s entrenched electoral system benefits incumbents and insiders while depressing public engagement. “We often have turnout under 25% for local elections,” she said. “That’s a crisis.” She argued that allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in primaries—as cities like Los Angeles and Boston already do—would increase competition and restore legitimacy. “People want to vote, but the system makes it harder than it should be.”

Ranked choice voting, she noted, is already changing campaign dynamics for the better. “Candidates are now working together, campaigning together, trying to earn each other’s supporters as second-choice votes,” she said. “That’s a sea change from the scorched-earth politics we’re used to.” Rauh believes this approach yields winners who reflect broader public support—not just party loyalists. “The most basic thing you can do is become an informed voter,” she added. “Then make sure your friends and neighbors are, too.”

Citizens Union’s ultimate goal is to restore trust in civic life. Rauh emphasized that most government workers are deeply committed public servants—and that cynicism, fueled by corruption and apathy, endangers democracy itself. “Government is filled with people who could be making more money elsewhere, but they stay because they care,” she said. “We have to meet that commitment with better systems and stronger safeguards.” Her message was clear: if New Yorkers want change, they have to show up and demand it—at the ballot box.