Content Categorized with "Research & Analysis"
1 - 10 of 82 results
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Fixing Top Two in California
- Posted: June 18, 2013
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Home, Instant Runoff Voting, All Reports
In 2010, California adopted the "Top Two" primary system. In this Policy Perspective, we outline some of the issues with how Top Two operated in California in 2012. We then describe how the system would operate under a simple modification: a "Top Four" system in which four candidates advance to the general election instead of two, and in which the general election is conducted by ranked choice voting.
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FairVote's Fix for Top Two in California
- Posted: June 18, 2013
- Author(s): Drew Spencer
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Instant Runoff Voting, Home
FairVote has consistently been at the forefront of critical analysis of Top Two. Now, we are proud to announce a new Policy Perspective detailing a simple reform that could help to resolve nearly all of Top Two's maladies in a way that both accommodates the goals of Top Two supporters and the criticisms of its opponents.
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Monopoly Politics 2012
- Posted: October 12, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Congressional Elections, Redistricting
FairVote has issued its new Monopoly Politics 2012 report on U.S. House elections. The report demonstrates the growing partisan rigidity of voters in U.S. House elections with a detailed state-by-state, district-by-district review of this year's congressional races and the 2010 elections. It includes information on the presidential election results in every 2012 district, how each district's partisanship has changed since 2010 and the likely outcome of the Congressional elections next month.
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U.S. House Elections as They Are and Will Be
- Posted: July 23, 2012
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Home, Congressional Elections, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Redistricting
FairVote has released two new reports about congressional elections and an interactive map that summarizes their findings. Monopoly Politics 2012 provides the partisan landscape for all 435 U.S. House districts, with data on recent elections and how redistricting will affect partisan outcomes and racial fairness in 2012. Fair Voting 2012 shows how American forms of proportional representation could work in every state with more than one House district.
Our reports come with insightful analysis about partisan outcomes, competitiveness, southern politics and more.
- FairVotingUS.Com: FairVote's interactive map that presents reports
- Fair Voting 2012: State profiles and analysis about fair voting plans
- Monopoly Politics 2012: State profiles and analysis about 2012 House elections
- Dedication of reports to William Raspberry and Lindsey Needham
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Look to Election Rules to Reverse Decline of Political Center
- Posted: May 11, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin, Rob Richie
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Instant Runoff Voting, Home, Reforms, Congressional Elections, FairVote
U.S. Senators Dick Lugar (R-IN), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Kent Conrad (R-ND) share a history of bipartisan policymaking -- and the reality that they are leaving Congress. With its "the-rules-matter" perspective, FairVote explores the way in which our winner-take-all voting system disadvantages centrist candidates and discourages bipartisanship.
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Primaries Spotlight Sharp Decline in U.S. House Moderates
- Posted: May 8, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin, Rob Richie
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Home, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Redistricting, Cumulative Voting
On April 24, two moderate Blue Dog Democrats, Tim Holden and Jason Altmire, lost in Pennsylvania's primary election. They are the latest examples of an accelerating "no-more-moderates" trend within both major parties. But fair representation of the left, right and center is essential to the health of a democracy. Grounded in its unique the-rules-matter perspective, FairVote explores how winner-take-all voting rules today disadvantage candidates willing to seek bipartisan solutions to problems.
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Snowe-ball Effect: How the Loss of Yet another Congressional Moderate Makes the Case for Election Reform
- Posted: April 25, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Instant Runoff Voting, Home, Reforms, Congressional Elections
The stunning decision by Olympia Snowe to retire is just the latest example in an alarming series of setbacks for the political center, which is vital to a functioning democracy. What is clear, is that we are living through a period of severe polarization and partisanship, which has had adverse effects on the ranks of moderate politicians. FairVote's unique analysis connects the political center's travails to our damaging winner-take-all election rules and discusses the way in which alternative voting systems could boost moderates like Snowe.
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The 2012 GOP Nomination Contest Affirms Value of New Rules
- Posted: April 23, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin, Rob Richie
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Home, Presidential Elections, Presidential Nominations Reform
As the 2012 Republican nomination contest effectively ends, FairVote reviews how the Republican Party's new nomination rules improved the process and proposes how to make both major parties can make it better in 2016.
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Third Parties and the Spoiler Effect In the 2012 Election
- Posted: March 1, 2012
- Author(s): Joe Witte, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Instant Runoff Voting, Research & Analysis, Home, Presidential Elections
As the 2012 presidential election approaches, it's clear that while many American voters are ready for a third party, America's election system is not.
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Blame Game: NJ Governor Chris Christie Wrong to Fault RNC’s Proportional Rules for Romney’s Nomination Travails
- Posted: February 28, 2012
- Author(s): Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Home, Presidential Elections, Presidential Nominations Reform
According to Romney surrogate New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the Republican National Committee’s new rules (which led to more states allocating delegates by proportional representation)—not Mitt Romney and his declining vote shares relative to 2008—are at fault for his candidate’s recent travails. Blaming the rules for one’s poor performance or failure to meet expectations is certainly not a novel political strategy, but Christie’s statement—as we will see—gets a lot wrong. Just ask his state’s voters, which now are far more likely to vote in a meaningful primary.