89.31% of the Voting Age Population is registered to vote in Canada, and 97.2% in Sweden. In contrast, in the USA, one third of voters of voters are left behind- even in such a critical and vibrant election as this one.
Indeed, the US system of voter registration (“self-initiated system”), which puts the burden of registration [...]

Professor Michael McDonald at George Mason University this morning reported that his preliminary estimate was that voter turnout in yesterday’s election was 64.1%, of eligible voters (not registered voters or voting age population alone), topping the 1960 voter turnout rate of 63.8%. If his estimate holds up, this will mark the highest voter turnout since [...]

Here at FairVote we were particularly focused yesterday on measures for instant runoff voting in Memphis, Tennessee (see www.yesonfive.org), which won a a sweeping win 70% of the vote, and the choice voting form of proportional representation in Cincinnati, Ohio (see www.8isgreat.org), which suffered a narrow defeat, 53.5% to 46.5%, after opponents poured in close [...]

No news from Cincinnati (proportional representation) and Memphis (instant runoff voting), but big wins for pro-democracy reforms in Connecticut and Maryland. We’ve been big backers of the proposal that 17-year-olds be able to vote in primaries in years in which they will 18 and eligible to vote in the general election. Connecticut voters have just [...]