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More from Lauren Gambino on the We The People forum:

At the first 2020 cattle call for Democratic hopefuls, the candidates went back — sometimes all the way back to 1776.

At the We The People forum in Washington, co-hosted by a coalition of liberal organizations, Democrats and activists focused on sweeping democratic reforms to improve transparency and accountability. The ultimate goal, they said, was to create a government that moved toward the founders’ ideal of a “more perfect union”.

Pointing to the Trump administration as a “symptom and not the cause” of a government captured by corporate interests and carved up along partisan lines that don’t reflect the will of the majority, liberal activists peppered the candidates with questions about abolishing the electoral college, retiring voting rights and reforming the Supreme Court. The forum brought out eight of the Democratic candidates.

Some came with their own ideas. Beto O’Rourke proposed an executive order that would require every member of his cabinet to hold monthly town halls. He also embraced ending the electoral college.

Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) Hello from the #WeThePeople forum at the Warner Theater in D.C. Throughout the day, we’ll hear from 8 Democratic presidential candidates pic.twitter.com/fUHvxGhyT6

Elizabeth Warren called for a constitutional amendment that would protect the right to vote. Bernie Sanders said he supported rotating judges onto the Supreme Court as a way to bring in “new blood”. He also called for making Election Day a federal holiday. Julián Castro said Congress should be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests in an effort to “shine a light” on the nation’s legislative body. And Amy Klobuchar said DC statehood was a “major priority” in the fight for voting rights.

Democrats believe a focus on democratic reforms, as the Democratic-controlled House has done under Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, draws a stark contrast to what they have deemed the Trump administration’s “culture of corruption”. As evidence, they pointed to the cabinet secretaries and staffers who have resigned amid scandal and the lawsuits alleging that Donald Trump is using the office to enrich himself and his allies.

Not every idea was fully embraced. Sanders did not support adding additional justices to the Supreme Court, an idea known as “court packing”. He said Republicans could simply do the same when they are in power. Cory Booker said he was skeptical to do away with the Senate filibuster, a tool that Republicans used to block much of President Obama’s agenda. He credited the filibuster with keeping in place Obamacare.