Rob Richie is director of FairVote. See his page at fairvote.org for more information.

The Nation Magazine editor’s Katrina vanden Heuvel has been a consistently clear, powerful voice for electoral reform. My hat is off to her for her terrific new call for action on electoral reform in the new Nation.

We’re of course pleased to see her feature our reform agenda: proportional representation, instant runoff voting, universal voter registration, a constitutional right to vote, fair, secure and accountable election administration and a national popular vote for president. But we know that more must be done for us to truly claim democracy.

232 years ago, our nation’s founders signed the Declaration of Independence establishing that we are all created equal and that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed. In terms of representative democracy, those principles demand changes to our current rules. Vanden Heuvel is a true patriot — and it’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and get busy!

Other posts by Rob Richie

• Instant runoff in action -- voter choice and more positive campaigns - October 1st, 2008
• Lessons from the Post's bizarre coverage of Virginia prez poll - September 23rd, 2008
• Ranked choice voting methods chalk up new wins in NC, more - July 19th, 2008
• Katrina vanden Heuvel's powerful case for an agenda to transform American elections - July 4th, 2008
• Shame on Rhode Island's governor -- vying for anti-reform governor of the year - July 4th, 2008
• Choice voting form of "PR" boosted in Cincinnati (OH) & Port Chester (NY) - July 4th, 2008
• Former FairVote board member Donna Edwards takes seat in Congress - June 21st, 2008
• US Senator Bill Nelson leads on key FairVote priorities: Electoral College, advance registration, more - June 10th, 2008
• IRV backer wins key California GOP primary while Montana GOP experiences bizarre plurality result - June 9th, 2008
• Election audits get a boost in Minnesota -- and are coming to a state near you - June 9th, 2008