In 2008 the campaigns and the media are heavily focused on the
presidential battlegrounds – to the point where 26 states have not had
a single public event by one of the major party presidential or
vice-presidential nominees since the Republican convention. Boosted by
the work of David Schnicke and Laura Kirshner, FairVote’s new “campaign
trackers” for presidential campaign visits and advertisement spending
has garnered significant media attention. This month the NAACP board also gave its final endorsement to the National Popular Vote legislation, thanks to the dedication of FairVote North Carolina’s Torrey Dixon.
FairVote’s 2008 Campaign Tracker
2008 Presidential Ad Spending
NAACP Resolution to support National Popular Vote
National Popular Vote
Journal and Courier report on FairVote’s Campaign Tracker
Press Release: October 17th update
The National Popular Vote plan has now passed 21 state legislative chambers – most recently both chambers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Meanwhile, civic support keeps growing, with delegates at the NAACP convention in July voting to endorse the proposal. With four states having adopted the plan, expect significant progress in 2009 , with greater urgency for legislatures to take action in order for enough states to pass it to establish a national popular vote based on voter equality in 2012.
On June 6, Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) introduced S. 3100, a bill that would encourage advance voter registration for sixteen year olds, and automatic re-registration of voters who changed their residence. S. 3100 would create a grant program to provide the States with the funds needed to implement pre-registration for sixteen year olds, so ensuring that they would be on the voter rolls when they turn eighteen. Pre-registration, combined with automatic re-registration, would be a significant step towards FairVote's goal of universal voter registration. The bill also makes provision for absentee voting, mail-in voting, and vote verification through paper trails and manual audits. 
It was a good week for FairVote in the states. On May 27, Colorado
governor Bill Ritter signed HB 1378, a bill to allow all Colorado
municipalities and special districts to use instant runoff voting and
choice voting; FairVote's Rob Richie testied for two hours to the task
force that recommended the bill last year. In Illinois, the legislature
sent to the governor SF 439, a bill to allow municipalities to use IRV
ballots to improve voting rights for overseas voters like those serving
in the military.
