FairVote.org | Content Authored by Devin McCarthy

Devin McCarthy

Devin McCarthy is a Research Fellow at FairVote, focusing on proportional representation and international elections. He is a recent graduate of Georgetown University, where he majored in History and Government. As part of the Government Honors Program, he completed a thesis studying U.S. policy on recognizing new European states in 1919 and 1991. During his senior year at Georgetown, Devin worked as a research assistant at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He has also interned at non-profit organizations including the Center for International Policy and the Forum 2000 foundation in Prague, Czech Republic.

Content Authored by Devin McCarthy

31 - 40 of 41 results

Putin's United Russia Wins Resounding Victories in Local Elections
- Posted: October 18, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy, Sara Helmi
- Categories: Instant Runoff Voting, Europe, Home, International Elections, Elections Worldwide
As the results of Russia's October 14 local elections show, the rumors of United Russia's death have been greatly exaggerated. But did Vladimir Putin's party manipulate Russia's electoral laws to keep power?

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Opposition Parties Win First Round of Lithuanian Elections
- Posted: October 17, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy, Sara Helmi
- Categories: Europe, Home, International Elections, Elections Worldwide
Lithuania's conservative government is likely to be toppled following a defeat in the October 14 national elections. Lithuania uses a combination of open list proportional representation and a winner-take-all runoff system based on geographic constituencies to elect its legislature.

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Major Media Gets it Wrong on Hong Kong Elections
- Posted: September 24, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy, Sara Helmi
- Categories: Home, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Asia and Oceania, International Elections, Elections Worldwide
Hong Kong's pro-democracy parties did not perform as well as expected in the September 9 Legislative Council elections. The New York Times would have you believe that the disappointing result can be blamed on Hong Kong's proportional representation system. But that explanation is misleading and distracts from the real problems of the city's electoral structure.

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The Nonpartisan Case for National Popular Vote: Al Gore, not GOP Platform, Gets it Right
- Posted: September 5, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Home, National Popular Vote
Last week, the 2012 Republican Party Platform came out against a national popular vote, while Al Gore spoke in favor of one. Does that mean that the National Popular Vote plan is a partisan issue? To the contrary.

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How the Electoral College Became Winner-Take-All
- Posted: August 22, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Home, Presidential Elections, National Popular Vote
Electoral College electors weren't always chosen based on statewide winner-take-all rules. The first 13 U.S. presidential elections were messy and confusing, as each state used its own method for holding--or not holding--presidential elections.

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Swing States of America: Candidate Tracker and News, August 17
- Posted: August 17, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Presidential Tracker, Home, Presidential Elections
Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan could improve his chances in Ryan's home state of Wisconsin, but by how much? Will the overperforming economies of many swing states give President Obama victory in November?

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Swing States of America: Candidate Tracker and News, August 6
- Posted: August 6, 2012
- Author(s): Presidential Tracker, Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Presidential Tracker, Home, Presidential Elections, National Popular Vote
Nationwide polls remain close, but recent swing state polling suggests that President Barack Obama is beginning to pull away from Mitt Romney in the few states that will decide the 2012 presidential election. Obama attempts to further increase this lead with another week of swing state campaigning.

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Electing Lords: A Unique Opportunity for Electoral Reform in the British Upper House
- Posted: July 31, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Home, Europe, Reforms, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Elections Worldwide
A lordship, by its very definition, has historically not been an elected office. But there is a strong movement in the British House of Commons to transform the upper house of the British parliament, the House of Lords, into a largely elected body based on proportional representation. This reform is long overdue.

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North Carolina’s Miniscule Runoff Turnout Undercuts Legitimacy
- Posted: July 24, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Instant Runoff Voting, Home
A higher percentage of Americans believe in vampires than voted in North Carolina's July 17th primary runoff for nominations for Congress and key statewide offices. Unless North Carolina wants to risk a vampire or a similarly extreme candidate winning an election, it needs to change its runoff system. Instant runoff voting is the solution.

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The Current Electoral College is Like the World Series (Which is Why We Need to Change It)
- Posted: July 2, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Home, Presidential Elections, National Popular Vote
If you've followed the debate over the Electoral College, you may have heard the argument that the College's structural similarity to baseball's World Series is a good argument for keeping its current winner-take-all rules. That argument is flawed.

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Devin McCarthy

Content Authored by Devin McCarthy

Nationwide polls remain close, but recent swing state polling suggests that President Barack Obama is beginning to pull away from Mitt Romney in the few states that will decide the 2012 presidential election. Obama attempts to further increase this lead with another week of swing state campaigning.