Content Categorized with "Home"
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When Barack Obama Was a Leader in Seeking Fair Voting Systems
- Posted: December 20, 2012
- Author(s): Drew Spencer, Rob Richie
- Categories: Instant Runoff Voting, Home, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, FairVote
President Barack Obama has a lot on his mind these days, but the state of our democracy remains critical. Fortunately, judging by Obama's record in the Illinois Senate --where he was the prime sponsor of legislation to advance cumulative voting and instant runoff voting - we haven't had a president as informed about good ideas for taking on electoral reform since James Madison and the founding generation.
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It’s Not Just Gerrymandering: Fixing House Elections Demands End of Winner-Take-All Rules
- Posted: December 16, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Home, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Redistricting
This year's elections put a spotlight on the troubled nature of how we elect the House of Representatives, the alleged "people's house." But some of our smartest election experts don't seem to understand the root of the problems with House elections.
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Electoral College Chaos: How Republicans Could Put a Lock on the Presidency
- Posted: December 13, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Home, National Popular Vote, Presidential Elections
Our current Electoral College rules allow for partisan manipulation of outcomes. FairVote's director Rob Richie explains how if Republicans in 2011 had abused their monopoly control of state government in several key swing states and passed new laws for allocating electoral votes, the exact same votes cast in the exact same way in the 2012 election would have converted Barack Obama's advantage of nearly five million popular votes and 126 electoral votes into a resounding Electoral College defeat.
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New Commitment to Our Most Basic Right
- Posted: December 13, 2012
- Author(s): Mollie Hailey
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment, Universal Voter Registration
Attorney General Holder has observed that, “too many citizens have reason to fear that their right to vote, their access to the ballot – and their ability to have their votes counted – is under threat.” Through reform of the systemic problems that plague our electoral process, we can combat this threat. We will ultimately need to think and act nationally; but now is the time for all of us to get involved in that effort in our cities and states.
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FairVote Chair Krist Novoselic on Democracy
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FairVote Chair Krist Novoselic on Democracy and Proportional Representation
- Posted: December 12, 2012
- Author(s): Drew Spencer
- Categories: Home, FairVote
Those in New York City were recently excited to learn that Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl of Nirvana will be reuniting to play at the 12/12/12 benefit concert for those affected by Hurricane Sandy, with Paul McCartney joining them in the role formerly filled by Kurt Cobain. A smaller number may be aware of the critical role Krist Novoselic has played in fighting for reforms to improve American democracy.
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“Incumbency Bumps": Measuring National Partisan Swings By Evaluating the Incumbent Advantage in U.S. House Races, 1996-2012
- Posted: December 4, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Home, Congressional Elections
FairVote introduces its updated "incumbency bump" data for the 2012 election. Incumbents once again received a substantial advantage over challengers this year, although that bump was the lowest it has been since FairVote first began analyzing incumbency in 1996.
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A Representative Congress: Enhancing African American Voting Rights in the South with Choice Voting
- Posted: November 27, 2012
- Author(s): Drew Spencer, Rob Richie
- Categories: Home, Reforms, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Redistricting, Voting Rights, FairVote
In southern states, racially polarized elections remain an active part of political life. Since 1965, the Voting Rights Act has guaranteed that African Americans in the South cannot be shut out of elections either through direct barriers to voting or through discriminatory districts that prevent the achievement of representation. However, relying on winner-take-all elections has inherent limitations. In the belt of southern states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, the use of districting to achieve a fairer level of representation for African Americans has hit a ceiling. To push through that ceiling and achieve truly fair representation, FairVote recommends abandoning the single-member district in favor of super districts elected by choice voting.
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Ukrainian Elections Are Another Example of Partisan Bias Caused by Winner-Take-All
- Posted: November 26, 2012
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy, Sara Helmi
- Categories: Home, Europe, International Elections, Elections Worldwide
Think the U.S. House elections had a structural bias in favor of one party? The partisan bias in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, held just a week before the American elections, was even worse.
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2012 Congressional Elections Demonstrate Need for Fair Voting
- Posted: November 16, 2012
- Categories: Home, The Fair Voting Solution for U.S. House Elections
FairVote has analyzed the 2012 congressional elections, and the results are conclusive: it's time to get rid of winner-take-all and elect Congress using fair voting methods. Here are some highlights from our coverage of the recent election.