FairVote Blog
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Winner-Take-All Elections Exacerbate Kenya's Ethnic Tensions
by Sara Helmi, Andrew Douglas // May 2, 2013 //Kenya's use of winner-take-all elections provides few incentives for inter-ethnic cooperation. Proportional representation could help bridge the country's ethnic divides.
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FairVote Maps the 2012 Presidential Campaign
by Andrea Levien // April 30, 2013 //Check out FairVote's new Google Map, which shows in detail when and where the presidential and vice presidential candidates held events during the fall campain. The distribution may surprise you.
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FairVote’s Top Ten List: The Breakdown of Winner-Take-All Elections
These are the top ten indicators that winner-take-all has led to the breakdown of the American electoral system in both presidential and legislative elections.
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Remembering Bob Edgar
by Cynthia Terrell // April 23, 2013 //FairVote is saddened by the death of Common Cause president Bob Edgar, a tireless advocate for peace, justice, and democracy.
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Taking on American Political Dysfunction without Changing the Constitution
by Rob Richie, Devin McCarthy // April 23, 2013 //In his draft paper on Political Dysfunction and Constitutional Change, University of California-Irvine professor Rick Hasen makes a powerful case for the need for out-of-the-box thinking on American political reform. But he also makes a curious omission: fair voting.
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Electoral Reform on the Move in Canada
by Devin McCarthy // April 16, 2013 //From a poll showing widespread support for proportional representation to the Liberal Party leadership elections held using ranked choice voting to the growing movement for ranked choice voting in Toronto, things are looking up for electoral reform in Canada.
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Takoma Park Promotes the Vote: Will More Cities, Campuses and Organizations Take Action?
by Rob Richie // April 16, 2013 //Last night, the Takoma Park city council passed a charter amendment on first reading that, if approved when before the council again in the coming month, will be in the best tradition of cities and states leading the nation in advancing voting rights. It would establish same-day voter registration and extend voting rights to residents after they turn 16 and after incarceration. Here's why we think it's important.
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Japan's Electoral Unfairness Goes Deeper than Malapportionment
by Devin McCarthy, Sara Helmi // April 8, 2013 //Several of Japan's high courts have called the 2012 election unconstitutional because of malapportionment. But the continued use of winner-take-all elections is the deeper cause of Japan's distorted electoral outcomes.
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Getting a Real “Colbert Bump” for Women’s Representation Takes Fair Voting Systems and Better Party Rules
by Rob Richie, Patricia Hart // March 29, 2013 //After voters in South Carolina rejected four women running as Democratic Party nominees in the 2012 congressional elections, the state in a special election this May again has a chance elect its first female House members since 1990. The likely continuation of an all-male delegation provides lessons for what it will take to achieve gender parity in Congress: a combination of gender-conscious party rules and fair voting methods.
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“Battleground Texas” Still Many Years Away
by Andrea Levien // March 25, 2013 //Those seeking to make Texas a battleground state in presidential elections are failing to confront the realities of our winner-take-all voting rules for allocating electoral votes, as well as the increasing rigidity of partisan voting patterns in America. Over the next twenty years, the only way for Texas to ensure that it becomes relevant in presidential elections is to help activate the National Popular Vote plan for president.