Voters could be forgiven for thinking that our electoral system is failing them. Across the political spectrum, many Americans despair that our government isn’t responsive or transparent, and that someone else — usually someone with a lot more money — has greater access to policymakers. As a result, people feel that their concerns and needs aren’t getting the attention they deserve.

The good news is that in California, which has long been a home of innovation and progress, there are real reasons for hope.

In 2010, the same year that the U.S. Supreme Court put wealthy special interests ahead of everyday voters in the Citizens United v. FEC decision, Californians chose citizen participation and democratic representation instead — voting for an independent citizen-led redistricting commission. As a result, California has become a model in outlawing gerrymandering and promoting transparency in the redistricting process.

Building on that important victory, we are finding more opportunities to create spaces for deliberation, not just debates, to work through possible solutions. Last year, California Common Cause joined with the California Business Roundtable, the California Federation of Labor, California Forward, the League of Women Voters, ACLU, the National Federation of Independent Business, and many others with disparate political perspectives to work together to begin to tackle the challenge of money in politics.

Improving transparency about campaign finance was an excellent place to start. Recent bi-partisan legislation led by Senator Robert Herzberg and supported by Secretary of State Alex Padilla will significantly strengthen our online reporting and disclosure system for campaign finance. Voters will have much better access to information about who funds campaigns, which will help them decide how to vote on candidates and ballot measures. Better transparency leads to better decisions.

We are also looking at ways to create alternatives to candidates fundraising from monied interests. As it turns out, California doesn’t have a monopoly on innovation — other jurisdictions are already putting good ideas into practice. For example, New York City matches small donations from city residents to political candidates on a 6-to-1 basis. Studies showed that this system has led to a more diverse donor pool and greater diversity of candidates. Residents of Seattle recently approved a $25 voucher to allow individuals to donate to the candidate of their choice.

These are exciting developments worthy of greater exploration. Through our deliberations, there was enough interest to open the door to discussions about public financing of campaigns. To get started, California Common Cause and our allies worked with members of both parties in Sacramento to remove the ban on public financing of elections. Now local governments or the State of California are free to create campaign finance systems that would encourage citizens to more fully participate. It’s only a first start, but it’s an important one.

The work on redistricting, transparency, and public financing are all encouraging signs for California. The progress towards creating a strong democracy in our state continues. In the years since the Citizens United decision, California has instituted stronger money in politics disclosure laws, the city of Los Angeles has improved its small-donor citizen-funded elections program, and just last year California became the second state in the nation to streamline the voter registration process, which would help register 6 million eligible but unregistered voters.

Despite these victories, it’s important to remember that we must never stop innovating. While many people today feel that their voice doesn’t matter and that elections can be bought and sold, we have the chance to fix the system, but we will have to keep at it. As we create uncommon conversations to find common ground on campaign finance issues, we are showing that there is much that Californians — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents — agree on and can work together toward. If we succeed, it could revolutionize politics in this country.

Kathay Feng is the executive director of California Common Cause, a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of an inclusive American democracy.