FairVote Blog
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National Popular Vote passes Massachusetts state legislature
by Jules Leconte // July 30, 2010 // 0 commentsOn July 27, the Massachusetts Senate approved the National Popular Vote plan for president by a 28-9 vote, three days after the final vote of the Massachusetts House passed it 116-34.
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Colorado, the GOP, and IRV
by Patrick Withers // July 26, 2010 // 0 commentsOne major political party in Colorado sees first hand the weaknesses of our current electoral system. Will they also see the solution?
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Electoral College Reform Draws Support from Both Democrats and Republicans
by Jules Leconte // July 14, 2010 // 2 comments"The National Popular Vote Initiative does not help one party or another. It just helps Americans in general."
– Illinois state Senator Kird Dillard (R), co-sponsor of a NPV bill. -
Why IRV Produces a Majority Winner
by Alec Slatky // July 12, 2010 // 20 commentsA common criticism of instant runoff voting is that IRV does not necessarily produce a “majority winner.” This criticism is misleading, and does not recognize the true meaning of a “majority winner” in any given election.
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Momentum builds for Voter Pre-Registration: Four Wins in the Past Year
by Tom Sanchez // July 2, 2010 // 0 commentsDelaware recently became the 6th state to pass Youth Voter Pre-Registration legislation. Here's why that victory is so important to FairVote's overall mission.
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Sen. Byrd and Constitution Day
by Rebecca Guterman // June 28, 2010 // 0 commentsSenator Robert Byrd (D-W. Va) died at 92 this morning after being admitted to a Fairfax, VA hospital last week for heat exhaustion. Byrd, who was elected to serve a record-breaking nine consecutive terms in the Senate following three terms in the House, is remembered in the many obituaries that appeared today for his unwavering dedication to the needs of the people he represented.
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Debunking the Myths about Port Chester
by Alec Slatky // June 25, 2010 // 3 commentsPort Chester's historic Board of Trustees election this past month has drawn national attention for its use of cumulative voting. But the amount of misinformation found in the media coverage is high, so FairVote would like to correct some of the most common fallacies.
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Primary Runoffs Show Need for Reform
by Alec Slatky // June 23, 2010 // 0 commentsEveryone can agree that the higher the turnout, the better. But then why do we accept runoff elections where the winners often receive fewer votes than they did in the initial primary? There must be a better way...
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Drawn Into the Fray: Thinking Outside the Single Member District Box
by Patrick Withers // June 23, 2010 // 0 commentsSince the foundation of our democracy, gerrymandering, or the strategic drawing of districts to somehow bias the electoral result, has been an important, albeit nefarious, component of American politics. It is common, especially in census years, for voters to rail against politicians on both sides of the aisle for using gerrymandering to secure their own party's power. While there is plenty of blame to go around, perhaps there is a larger problem lying underneath the surface. Perhaps the problem lies in the creation of single-member districts itself.
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Low Turnout, Voter Fatigue, and Patchwork Primaries
by Patrick Withers // June 10, 2010 // 0 commentsDo marathon election seasons make for the best democracy possible? Voter turnout statistics seem to suggest no.