FairVote Feed: News

FairVote: Your Primary Resource in 2012

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:22:33 -0800

FairVote has been analyzing and commenting on elections in general and presidential primaries in particular for two decades. This year FairVote has assembled key resources to understand this year's nomination contests, with regular analysis on its blog and in published commentary. Don't miss these new reports and commentaries.

Delegate allocation rules in 2012 GOP race

Open, closed and mixed primaries, state-by-state This report details who is allowed to vote in every state holding a presidential or congressional primary this year.

South Carolina Primary: One Candidate May Easily Win All Delegates By Rob Richie and Elise Helgesen

South Carolina Voters Better Enjoy it While it Lasts by Katie Kelly and Rob Richie

RCV for the GOP: Mitt Romney, Fractured Conservatives, and the Importance of Rules by Sheahan Virgin

Understanding How Proportional Representation Worked in NH by FairVote

See visual portrayals of state-by-state GOP primary results & Romney 2008 vs. Romney 2012

Utah Republicans Use Instant Runoff Voting

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:03:52 -0800

The Republican Party in Utah used Instant Runoff Voting this week to elect a replacement for a state senate vacancy in a seven-candidate race. Indeed about a half dozen current Republican state lawmakers first won office in a similar way. In 2004, the state convention used IRV when former governor Jon Huntsman was first nominated.

Account of this week's election

Round by Round results from Davis County Republican Party

Article about past use of IRV to fill 2009 vacancy

Articles & analysis of 2002 & 2004 state conventions using IRV

Article on Utah testimony on adopting IRV for state offices

FairVote anticipates a remarkable 2012

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:08:12 -0800

FairVote offers compelling reforms designed to embrace the beauty and power of people coming together for the common good. For us, fair elections demand real choices no matter where you live. Real representation means being able to join with like-minded people to elect candidates in proportion to your voting strength. Democracy rests on your ongoing participation.

We're proud of our 2011 and eager for what 2012 will bring. Please peruse our blog, our research reportsand our other resources. For those ready to help realize our vision, we ask that you consider a charitable contribution. Thank you!

How to donate to FairVote
Rob Richie's year-end letter to supporters

Memorable 2011 quotes on our work and ideas
December 2011 Newsletter
2011 Accomplishments Bookmark

2012 Election Marathon Underway

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:07:57 -0800

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

Elections 2011: Ranked Choice Voting & More

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:19:34 -0800

Many Americans had a chance to vote in state and local elections on November 8. FairVote was particularly focused on the first-ever use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in Maine's biggest city of Portland, along with RCV elections in St. Paul (MN), San Francisco (CA), Cambridge (MA), Telluride (CO) and Takoma Park (MD). The news from these elections was extremely promising for reform advocates. Voters and election officials handled the system well, and more than two candidates were able to run without talk of "spoilers."

We remain concerned about voter turnout decline in many elections and low numbers of contested races. We see winner-take-all rules as increasingly locking voters into one-party, no-contest boxes. Fair voting methods of proportional voting are necessary to provide meaningful choices and fair representation in our legislative elections.

Here are links:

Portland: TV (Ranked Choice Voting a Success) & Press-Herald:(Ranked Choice Voting a Winner)
FairVote's Portland Spotlight & Dorothy Does Democracy
San Francisco: SFBetterElections.com & SF Voters Effectively Used Ranked Choice Voting
Visuals for 2011 RCV Election Results: Round-by-Round Breakdown
FairVote Minnesota on St. Paul: Ranked Choice Voting a Winner
News Coverage of Telluride Mayoral Race: RCV works
Elise Helgesen on Choice Voting Elections in Cambridge
Christina Grier on Voter Turnout in 2011
Rob Richie and Jamie Raskin on Fair Voting Plan for Maryland
Virginia State Legislative Elections: Update to Dubious Democracy

Ranked choice voting in major elections

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:19:15 -0700

Ranked choice voting (RCV, or instant runoff) accommodates voters having more than two choices at the polls. This month, San Francisco (CA) will elect a mayor and two other citywide leaders with RCV. Portland (ME) and Telluride (CO) will elect mayors in hotly contested RCV races, and St. Paul (MN) and Takoma Park (MD) will elect city councilors with RCV. In Ireland, Michael Higgins was elected president with RCV, breaking out of a 7-candidate field for a landslide win thanks to a combination of strong first choice rankings and backup preferences from supporters of losing candidates. Cambridge (MA) will use the choice voting form of RCV that provides fair representation to its voters.

FairVote has been deeply involved in many of these implementations and will be tracking elections closely next week. Although controversial with some, RCV is working well -- and has strong backing from almost all mayoral candidates in both Portland and San Francisco. For more on the races, see:

RCV in San Francisco: New opeds by Matt Gonzalez & Steven Hill
Portland: Our Portlandvotes123.com, TV local news story and FairVote voter survey
Coverage in Freakonomics
Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio & Economist on San Francisco
Associated Press on Portland
Cambridge: Candidates for school board & city council
Rob Richie blogs on Irish presidential election
St. Paul elections: Voter education site & Star-Tribune commentary

Maryland Gerrymander Triggers Support for Fair Voting

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:44:13 -0700

The Maryland state senate today passed a proposed map for congressional redistricting that has been highly controversial for its gerrymandered district lines and disputes involving partisanship and race. State Senator Jamie Raskin, a constitutional law professor and former FairVote board member, made a well-received floor speech arguing that the best way to address the problem in the future was to put voters in charge over their representation. Raskin shared FairVote's plan for fair voting in super-districts with three and five members that would lead to nearly every voter being able to elect a favorite candidate.

FairVote is drawing such plans for all states in the nation. They could be established for congressional elections by repealing a 1967 law requiring winner-take-all districts.

* Fair Voting Plan for Maryland

* Baltimore Sun on Sen. Raskin's speech

* The congressional map as passed state senate

* Example of Fair Voting plans for Ohio and North Carolina

* Commentary from FairVote's Rob Richie and Krist Novoselic

FairVote Testimony on Electoral College Reform in Pennsylvania

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:25:21 -0700

On October 4, 2011, FairVote submitted a written testimony to the Pennsylvania Senate's 'State Government Committee' for the public hearing on electoral reform of whether or not to allocate the state's electoral votes based on congressional district outcomes.

FairVote strongly opposes the proposed legislation. When adopted in all states, the congressional district system takes us farther from the goal of ensuring that the winner of the national popular vote is elected president. When adopted in Pennsylvania alone, it takes us farther from the goal of ensuring that the winner of Pennsylvania's statewide popular vote wins most of the state's electoral votes.

And, make sure to see Rob Richie's Nation magazine commentary on the Pennsylvania controversy

Download FairVote Testimony of Electoral College Reform in Pennsylvania

Ranked Choice Voting in Action

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:03:53 -0700

Ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting ensures that the candidate that wins an election wins the majority of the vote. Voters will use ranked choice voting this fall in several exciting races: wide-open elections for mayor in San Francisco (CA) and Portland (ME); the presidential race in Ireland; and for other city races in the U.S., including St. Paul (MN). New voter education initiatives are helping show how easy ranked choice voting is for voters, and there have been excellent media stories.

Caleb Kleppner explains how ranked choice votes are counted in Portland, ME
Local newspaper in Portland discusses RCV
Article from San Francsico has a breakdown of some of the 16 mayoral candidates running
Check out this video of Portland election administrator Bud Philbrick explaining RCV
Voters in St. Paul, Minesota can go to this page for RCV resources
The Irish presidential election also uses RCV

Other FairVote RCV Resources

Ranked choice voting in the Bay Area
FairVote's http://www.InstantRunoff.com

Winner-take-all machinations in Pennsylvania

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:18:38 -0700

FairVote for years has documented the broken nature of the current Electoral College system, including presidential candidates in general elections focusing solely on a dwindling number of winner-take-all swing states and partisans bending electoral rules to try to win those states. Now it's getting worse, with Republican leaders newly in charge of Pennsylvania backing a plan that likely would give a majority of that state's 2012 electoral votes to a candidate who lost the state's popular vote -- just as North Carolina Democrats nearly did in 2001.

This latest attack on fair play makes the case for the National Popular Vote plan all the stronger. FairVote's Fuzzy Math report explains problems with alternative reform proposals like the congressional district allocation system, and a growing number of analysts rightly urge states to complete the current drive to establish the National Popular Vote plan.

FairVote's new Fuzzy Math report on problems with the congressional district plan and other proposals to divide electoral votes, either done state-by-state or nationally

National Popular Vote plan and FairVote resources

Philadelphia Inquirer on National Popular Vote rather than district plan
FairVote criticized same proposal in 2001 commentary and in Politico last month