Advancement Project Highlights Need For Right to Vote in US Constitution
Posted on Quick News Austin Plier on March 30, 2016
Judith Browne Dianis, co-director of the Advancement Project, writes in support of a Constitutional Right to Vote in a piece called "Do Voters of Color Have a Right to Vote in the 2016?"
Read moreKristin Eberhard Touts RCV as Means to Achieve Civility in Presidential Primaries
Posted on Quick News Austin Plier on March 22, 2016
Kristin Eberhard of Sightline Institute writes that ranked choice voting would help solve many of the woes in this year's presidential primary races. In particular, she contends it would help remedy the lack of civility that has been displayed this primary cycle.
Read more1 in 6 Utah Legislature Candidates Run Unopposed in Safe Seats
Posted on Quick News Austin Plier on March 22, 2016
The Salt Lake Tribune writes that one out of every six Utah legislative candidates is running unopposed and can already declare victory, nearly eight months in advance of the elections on November 8th, 2016. The culprit? Single-winner districts.
Read moreMaryland and Vermont Move Universal Voter Registration Bills Forward
Posted on Quick News Austin Plier on March 22, 2016
Maryland's House of Delegates passed a “universal” voter registration bill on Monday, just two weeks after Vermont's House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would automatically register Vermonters that applied for a driver's license.
Read moreRCV Was A Large Part of the National Conversation This Week
Posted on Quick News Austin Plier on March 18, 2016
Ranked choice voting has been an important part of the national conversation this week, particularly as a way to improve the GOP presidential primary process. Click to read pieces from The Economist, Bloomberg News, and Fortune Magazine, among others.
Read moreOver A Third of GOP Primary Voters Would Consider Third Party
Posted on Quick News Austin Plier on March 16, 2016
According to the Washington Post, over a third of Republican primary voters would be open to voting for a third party candidate, should Donald Trump win the GOP nomination. That is a significant share of the Republican electorate, all of whom would benefit from the ability to rank their choices on Election Day in November.
Read moreLosing Ohio Could Help Trump Win the Nomination
Posted on Quick News Austin Plier on March 15, 2016
Sam Wang writes in the American Prospect that losing Ohio could actually help Donald Trump win the GOP nomination. He argues that a Kasich win in Ohio would ensure that at least three candidates remain past “Super Tuesday 2.” As long as that is the case, the Trump-alternative vote will remain divided, and Trump will be able to continue picking up state victories with less than a majority.
Read moreMeet the Team: Austin Plier
Posted on What's New Austin Plier on March 11, 2016

I joined FairVote in the summer of 2014, after graduating from St. Norbert College, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Upon graduating, I knew I wanted to learn more about American democracy and solutions that might fix a political system that was clearly breaking down. It seemed to me that we could do better--and had to do better--in order to restore faith and enthusiasm to elections at every level of government.
Read moreRubio to OH Supporters: Vote Kasich
Posted on Quick News Austin Plier on March 11, 2016
Kate Bolduan of CNN just tweeted this morning that Marco Rubio’s Communications Director, Alex Conant, told reporters that Rubio voters in Ohio should vote for John Kasich. This is exactly the kind of strategic voting that ranked choice voting would eliminate.
Read moreGroundbreaking Maryland Legislation Seeks to End Congressional Gerrymandering with Fair Representation
Posted on What's New Austin Plier, Rob Richie on February 11, 2016

Across the nation, Americans are frustrated with divisive politics and elections in which they feel as though their voice goes unheard. However, states are laboratories of democracy, and we now have an exciting new approach to reform--one that promises to kick-start a conversation about how to fix congressional elections and initiate change in the states.
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