President and CEO
Rob Richie has been the leader of FairVote since co-founding the organization in 1992 and was named president and CEO in 2018. He has been involved in helping to develop, win, and implement: ranked choice voting in states and more than 20 cities, fair representation voting systems in numerous Voting Rights Act cases, the National Popular Vote plan in 16 states, and voter access proposals like voter preregistration and automatic voter registration.
Richie is a frequent media source and has been a guest on CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, NPR’s All Things Considered, NBC, On the Media, and Freakonomics. His writings have appeared in every major national publication, including the opinion pages of The New York Times and The Washington Post as well as in 11 books, including as co-author of Every Vote Equal, which is about Electoral College reform, and Whose Votes Count, which is about fair representation voting. He has addressed conventions of the American Political Science Association, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Secretaries of State, and the National Conference of State Legislatures. He is a graduate of Haverford College, where he serves on its Corporation. Richie and his wife Cynthia Terrell are parents of Savanna, Lucas and Rebecca.
Just like you, we’re all reeling here at FairVote in reaction to the slew of daily challenges coming with the coronavirus. We’ve shifted to working remotely and trying our best to substitute online hangouts for in-person collaboration.
This week the New York Times endorsed two candidates for the Democratic nomination for president: Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. The decision to endorse two candidates with different bases of support has drawn a number of critics. But setting aside whether Warren and Klobuchar were the best candidates to support, the Times editorial board’s decision reflects an important insight: the primary season is designed to allow parties to build consensus around a nominee chosen out of a large field.
Rarely has a policy debate so divided and paralyzed a nation as the issue of “Brexit” in the United Kingdom. In a 2016 national referendum, British voters narrowly approved leaving the European Union. The aftermath and turmoil ever since provides a case study in how such divisions are poorly handled by a plurality, single-choice voting system.
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