Content Categorized with "Home"
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Democracy Lost: the Iowa Caucus, the New Hampshire Primary, and the Shortchanging of American Presidential Politics
- Posted: January 10, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Home, Presidential Nominations Reform
Although balloting in the 2012 Republican nomination battle has just begun, the race already appears to be over after just two contests: Iowa and New Hampshire. Such a result, in which the vast majority of the nation's voters are reduced to irrelevancy by an abbreviated primary process, is the newest chapter in a disturbing narrative of democratic ideals lost. Unlike most commentators, FairVote examines the preeminence of Iowa and New Hampshire with a critical eye, asking why two states with a combined 1.4% of the national population should possess a stranglehold on American presidential politics.
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The Role of Proportional Representation in the New Hampshire Primary
- Posted: January 10, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Elise Helgesen
- Categories: Home, Presidential Nominations Reform
Today New Hampshire will hold its primary. New Hampshire's 12 delegates are up for grabs. These delegates will be allocated proportionately, and not by a winner-take-all system of allocation.
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Texas Redistricting in the Hands of the Supreme Court Yet Again
- Posted: January 9, 2012
- Author(s): Lindsey Needham
- Categories: Home, Choice Voting/Proportional Representation, Redistricting
Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for three cases pertaining to Texas redistricting. In recent decades, Texas has been unable to pass a congressional redistricting plan with paying a visit to the high court. With a redistricting process that forces partisan interests to battle racial minority communities for power over a district's single seat, there is little surprise regarding these recurring controversies.
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2012 Election Marathon Underway
- Posted: January 6, 2012
- Categories: Home
Presidential nomination season is upon us, despite the general election still being 11 months away. Check out FairVote’s commentary about the Iowa caucus and stay tuned throughout the next months for our commentary about the nomination process and ways to improve it.
Democracy Lost: the Iowa Caucus, the New Hampshire Primary, and the Shortchanging of American Presidential Politics by Sheahan Virgin
The Role of Proportional Representation in New Hampshire by Rob Richie and Elise Helgesen
Understanding how the Iowa Caucuses Work—And Don’t Work by Rob Richie
FairVote in The Nation on Electoral Dysfunction
On NPR about earlier Florida primary
Our site FixThePrimaries.com
Iowa recount?: Check out FairVote's 2010 report on statewide recount
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Was the Iowa Caucuses’ Real Winner Not in the Race?
- Posted: January 4, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Home, Choice Voting/Proportional Representation, Reforms
Last night, as the numbers rolled in from Iowa, cable news shows pundits analyzed the numbers in almost every way humanly possible – with particular obsession with who was going to “win.” But the media just may have missed the biggest winner: a candidate who wasn’t seeking Iowa votes last night.
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No More Gerrymanders: Congressional Representation in the Seven At-Large States
- Posted: January 3, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin, Fair Voting Plans
- Categories: Home, Choice Voting/Proportional Representation, Proportional Voting, Redistricting, All Reports
Though spared the controversies of congressional redistricting, winner-take-all rules still plague the seven at-large states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming). Nowhere are the shortcomings of our voting system more acute than in at-large winner-take-all races, where one individual is - rather astonishingly - responsible for representing the political and demographic diversity of an entire state. Read our latest critique of winner-take-all elections and our analysis of congressional elections in these at-large states.
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Understanding how the Iowa caucuses work – and don’t work
- Posted: January 3, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Home, Instant Runoff Voting, Presidential Nominations Reform
The national media is in a frenzy about the Republican contest in tonight’s Iowa caucuses. Unfortunately, most journalists seem to be getting the story wrong – and a key reason is not understanding or even thinking about the rules and their implications.
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Innovative Analysis in 2011: Seven Top Election Insights from the FairVote Blog
- Posted: December 29, 2011
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Home
Reviewing all 121 entries posted on the FairVote.org blog this year was a reminder about how busy we've been -- and how insightful FairVote staff, colleagues and interns so often are. In this blog I zeroed in on seven insights you may have missed., with excerpts from seven important blogposts.
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Down the Rabbit Hole of Party Primary Rules
- Posted: December 22, 2011
- Author(s): Elise Helgesen
- Categories: Home
The time has almost come for all eyes to turn to Iowa and the rest of the states as they begin to hold their caucuses and primaries leading up to the 2012 election. But the world of primaries and caucuses is one of confusion, centering on party rules and overlapping state laws. My recent update of the Congressional and Presidential Primaries page on our website showed me just how complicated open, closed, semi-closed, and everything in between could be.
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No More Gerrymanders: Missouri's Partisan Plan versus the Fair Voting Alternative
- Posted: December 19, 2011
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin, Fair Voting Plans, Lindsey Needham
- Categories: Home, Choice Voting/Proportional Representation, Proportional Voting, Redistricting
Lawmakers in Missouri have recently passed a congressional redistricting plan that gives Republican candidates a strong advantage in 6 of 8 seats and protects nearly all incumbents. There's a better way--fair voting systems in multi-seat "super-districts." Read the latest in our fair voting plan series.