Entries from 2012
- 108 of 108 results
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International Women's Day: Time for Political Equality
- Posted: March 8, 2012
- Author(s): Lindsey Needham
- Categories: Home, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, FairVote, Elections Worldwide
Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day! As we honor the accomplishments of women all over the world, FairVote takes a moment to investigate the lack of women in political office. What can we do to increase women's representation?
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Survey of California Republicans Has Revealing Results
- Posted: February 29, 2012
- Author(s): Dorothy Scheeline
- Categories: Instant Runoff Voting, Home, Presidential Elections, Presidential Nominations Reform
Californians for Electoral Reform conducted a revealing survey of delegates to the California Republican Party state convention last weekend. By enumerating their preferences, California Republican activists give insight into their voting patterns.
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Blame Game: NJ Governor Chris Christie Wrong to Fault RNC’s Proportional Rules for Romney’s Nomination Travails
- Posted: February 28, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Home, Presidential Elections, Presidential Nominations Reform
According to Romney surrogate New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the Republican National Committee’s new rules (which led to more states allocating delegates by proportional representation)—not Mitt Romney and his declining vote shares relative to 2008—are at fault for his candidate’s recent travails. Blaming the rules for one’s poor performance or failure to meet expectations is certainly not a novel political strategy, but Christie’s statement—as we will see—gets a lot wrong. Just ask his state’s voters, which now are far more likely to vote in a meaningful primary.
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Third Parties and the Spoiler Effect In the 2012 Election
- Posted: March 1, 2012
- Author(s): Joe Witte, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Instant Runoff Voting, Research & Analysis, Home, Presidential Elections
As the 2012 presidential election approaches, it's clear that while many American voters are ready for a third party, America's election system is not.
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Happy 200th Birthday to the “Gerry-mander”
- Posted: February 17, 2012
- Author(s): Tyler Sadonis
- Categories: Home, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Redistricting, FairVote
Saturday February 11, 2012 marked the 200th birthday of the "Gerry-mander." With 2012 redistricting plans taking shape, gerrymandering continues to be prevalent. FairVote advocates for an alternative reform to fundamentally change the way we draw district boundaries.
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Egyptian Parliamentary Elections, Part 1: The Rules
- Posted: February 13, 2012
- Author(s): Arab Spring Series, Hüseyin Koyuncu
- Categories: Home, Middle East and Africa, Elections Worldwide
Egypt recently held important parllamentary elections. We explain how some seats were elected with proportional voting and others with winner-take-all and the impact of these voting rules on representation.
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Let’s Get Voter Registration Right – and Make it Universal
- Posted: February 16, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Elise Helgesen
- Categories: Home, Universal Voter Registration
Our broken voter registration system is a direct barrier to participation. In fact, if every single registered voter participated this November, we still would trail many nations in turnout. It won't take rocket science to ensure that every eligible voter is registered to vote and that all ineligible voters are not. It's time to make a national commitment to voting in the United States; doing so must include modernizing voter registration.
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Paul vs. Paul
- Posted: April 5, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Presidential Elections, Presidential Nominations Reform
Media attention in the 2012 Republican nomination contest is focused on the ace among Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, but it's also instructive to compare Paul to another candidate: himself, circa 2008.
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Rule Breaker: The Florida Republican Primary, Winner-Take-All Allocation, and the Undoing of American Democracy
- Posted: February 2, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Home, Presidential Nominations Reform
When it comes to presidential elections, Florida has a penchant for controversy. The latest example comes via the 2012 GOP nomination battle: the Sunshine State has caused waves by violating RNC rules barring the use of winner-take-all allocation of delegates in pre-April contests. Winner-take-all is a highly undemocratic, broken system that marginalizes voters and shortchanges the primary process, and the GOP must prevent other states from following Florida's example.
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Romney vs. Romney
- Posted: April 5, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Presidential Elections, Presidential Nominations Reform
Media attention in the Republican nomination contest is focused on this year's results for Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum. It's also informative to compare Romney to another candidate: himself, circa 2008.