Entries from March, 2013
- 10 of 10 results
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Getting a Real “Colbert Bump” for Women’s Representation Takes Fair Voting Systems and Better Party Rules
- Posted: March 29, 2013
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Patricia Hart
- Categories: The Fair Voting Solution for U.S. House Elections, Reforms
After voters in South Carolina rejected four women running as Democratic Party nominees in the 2012 congressional elections, the state in a special election this May again has a chance elect its first female House members since 1990. The likely continuation of an all-male delegation provides lessons for what it will take to achieve gender parity in Congress: a combination of gender-conscious party rules and fair voting methods.
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“Battleground Texas” Still Many Years Away
- Posted: March 25, 2013
- Author(s): Andrea Levien
- Categories: Home, Presidential Elections, National Popular Vote
Those seeking to make Texas a battleground state in presidential elections are failing to confront the realities of our winner-take-all voting rules for allocating electoral votes, as well as the increasing rigidity of partisan voting patterns in America. Over the next twenty years, the only way for Texas to ensure that it becomes relevant in presidential elections is to help activate the National Popular Vote plan for president.
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New Jersey’s Booker Backs Buono: A Page from the Parity Playbook
- Posted: March 24, 2013
- Author(s): Patricia Hart
- Categories: FairVote
Democrats and Republicans across the nation should take a page from Newark Mayor Cory Booker's playbook by backing female gubernatorial candidates in primary races. Booker is lending state Senator Barbara Buono his support as she campaigns in Newark to be the Democratic candidate for New Jersey Governor.
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How to Guarantee Accountable Legislatures Under Choice Voting (Without Hurting Third Parties)
- Posted: March 21, 2013
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Europe, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation
You don't have to sacrifice voter choice in order to guarantee accountable governments in a choice voting system - either in Malta or in the U.S.
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New York Times Perpetuates Myth that Current Electoral College Rules Help Small States
- Posted: March 18, 2013
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Andrea Levien
- Categories: Home, Presidential Elections
Last week, The New York Times published a long analysis by Adam Liptak about the advantages conferred on small states by their outsized representation in the U.S. Senate. It's an important and revealing article, but one that is marred by its inclusion of the National Popular Vote as part of its analysis. We do applaud Liptak for discussing the National Popular Vote plan, as it is promises to be an historic reform drive that will change the Electoral College as we know it. But the National Popular Vote plan in no way "counteracts" the excess power of small states. In fact, it does just the opposite, giving voters in small states the attention and electoral clout that they deserve in presidential elections.
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Malta Elections Have 93% Turnout Using Choice Voting
- Posted: March 14, 2013
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Europe, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, International Elections, Elections Worldwide
Malta's ultra-high-turnout elections demonstrate some of the many benefits that the choice voting form of fair voting could bring to legislative elections in the United States.
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The Future of Egyptian Democracy Hinges on the Fight Over Its Electoral Law
- Posted: March 12, 2013
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Home, Middle East and Africa, International Elections, Elections Worldwide
Over two years since the Arab Spring ousted President Hosni Mubarak and brought the promise of democracy to Egypt, it is clear that that promise is threatened. While most of the media covers the protests and riots in the streets of Cairo and Port Said, the battle that may ultimately decide the fate of Egyptian democracy is being fought over Egypt's new electoral law. The key issue is proportional representation.
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The Voting Rights Act, Jerome Gray and Fair Voting in Alabama
- Posted: March 8, 2013
- Author(s): Drew Spencer
- Categories: Home, Reforms, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Voting Rights, Cumulative Voting, FairVote
Among news coverage surrounding the upcoming landmark Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which will decide the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Jerome Gray has received partiuclar attention.. Gray has had a remarkable career as a community organizer, including helping to make sure fair voting systems were effective for African American voters.
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Scholars like Nathaniel Persily Shouldn’t Count Out Fair Voting
- Posted: March 5, 2013
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy
- Categories: Home, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections
Many election experts ignore fair voting reform solutions because they believe them to be politically infeasible. But the only way for fair voting to become achievable is for those who know about it to start talking about the positive impact it could have on American politics.
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2013 Edition of Every Vote Equal: The case for the National Popular Vote Plan
- Posted: March 5, 2013
- Author(s): Andrea Levien
- Categories: Home, Presidential Elections, National Popular Vote
FairVote is pleased to announce that the newest edition of National Popular Vote's Every Vote Equal: A State Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote, is now available for free download at www.EveryVoteEqual.com. Co-authored by FairVote's executive director Rob Richie, this book explains in detail the need for a national popular vote for president, and the solution to that need: the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.