President Obama's travel patterns over the past  months have been leaning toward battleground and fundraising states. How does the whole of 2011 shape up? We summarize the past year and look at what is to come as the 2012 presidential election year comes into full swing. 

With the South Carolina primary just around the corner on Saturday, the preferences of South Carolina voters are of intense interest to the nation -and of course to the candidates swarming the states. Events, polls, debates and the media are all focused on South Carolina voters. But after Saturday? Forget it. 

Tracking the president's events and visits doesn't produce surprises considering the electoral system under which he operates, but it does provide insight into the inadequacies of our current structure -- affirming that the rules have a direct correlation on the outcomes.

Updated! This November, ranked choice voting (RCV) elections took place in six cities in the United States. Here is a visual breakdown of each ranked choice voting round in the San Francisco (CA) elections for Mayor, District Attorney and Sheriff and in the Portland (ME) mayoral election. In Portland, Michael Brennan led in the first round and was the strongest candidate in securing votes from backers of defeated candidates, winning with 56% when matched against his strongest opponent. In San Francisco, Interim Mayor Ed Lee led in the first round and also expanded his lead during the count, securing 60% of the final round tally.

Lawmakers in Georgia have recently passed a congressional redistricting plan that gives Republican candidates a strong advantage in 10 of 14 seats and protects nearly all incumbents. There's a better way -- proportional voting systems in multi-seat "super districts." Read the latest in our fair voting plan series.

Another installment of the NPV Critic Response Series. This post addresses Hans A. von Spakovsky's recent arguments against the National Popular Vote plan that recently appeared in The Washington Times. 

Latest poll on Electoral College versus a national popular vote from Gallup shows that Americans across the major political parties and age groups support a popular vote for president. It’s time to go with the people and support a national popular vote for president – making every vote equal and every vote count. 

Grassley and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad say that 31 small states would not matter under a national popular vote for president. They are just simply wrong. 

Fundraising played a large role in the events of the past month, but swing state visits are also gearing up. Check out this update for an analysis of the latest visits and a color-coded map state events. The disparity between state visits just may surprise you. 

Recent arguments against the National Popular Vote plan for presidential elections have claimed that power would shift to big cities, thereby favoring Democrats. FairVote explains why these claims are wrong, backed by no facts, and based on false assumptions.