Bill to Restore the Voting Rights Act Introduced
Posted on Quick News Maya Efrati, Drew Penrose on June 22, 2017

In 2013, the Supreme Court nullified a much-needed part of the VRA in Shelby County v. Holder. Today, the Voting Rights Advancement Act was reintroduced in Congress. The bill would restore Section 5 of the VRA, establishing a new formula for determining which states would be covered.
Read moreIllinois Legislature Unanimously Passes Automatic Voter Registration
Posted on Quick News Maya Efrati on May 30, 2017

Today, the Illinois state house of representatives passed a bill for automatic voter registration 115 to 0. That follows a vote of the state senate where it passed 48 to 0. The bill now goes to the governor for his signature, which will make Illinois the ninth state to adopt automatic voter registration.
Read moreLocal Elections in Texas Demonstrate the Power - and Limits - of Cumulative Voting Rights
Posted on What's New Maya Efrati on May 19, 2017

On May 6th, voters in more than 50 Texas jurisdictions went to the polls to elect local representatives with cumulative voting rights. Cumulative voting, a form of fair representation voting, has been successful in empowering racial and ethnic minority voters in Texas, but this year’s election demonstrated its limitations as well.
Read moreWisconsin Bill Limiting Recounts is Detrimental to Election Integrity
Posted on What's New Maya Efrati on April 18, 2017

Following the 2016 presidential election, five states saw petitions for recounts, but only one state (Wisconsin) conducted a full recount. After the dust has settled, the state is trying to change the process. The process does need reform, but unfortunately the bill being considered in Wisconsin goes in the wrong direction.
Read moreThe Impact of Money in the 2014 U.S. House Elections
Posted on What's New Rachel Swack, Maya Efrati on March 22, 2017

In 2010, the Supreme Court overturned the ban on corporate election spending in the landmark Citizens United case. As a majority of the justices considered political spending to be a form of free speech, corporations were free to ‘speak’, with the goal to persuade the voting public, through political contributions. Since then, the amount of money spent in elections has grown drastically, and the source of that money has become a key concern for many Americans. Many have become to wonder, with so much money involved, could our elections simply be ‘bought’?
Read moreFEC Ordered to Scrutinize Presidential Debate Rules
Posted on Quick News Maya Efrati on February 03, 2017

When America goes to the polls to choose a new president every four years, the Presidential Debates are a key way that citizens learn about the candidates and decide who to support. Unfortunately, the Commission on Presidential Debates (the CPD) has long excluded
Read moreNew Federal Protections of the Right to Vote or Overstepping? Presidential Policy Directive 21
Posted on What's New Maya Efrati, Shane Wade on January 25, 2017

The decision by former DHS secretary Johnson has received equal parts praise and criticism. Given FairVote’s longstanding support for a constitutional right to vote, we wanted to examine Johnson’s designation.
Read moreFerguson-Florissant Appeals VRA Case
Posted on Quick News Maya Efrati on December 13, 2016
The Ferguson-Florissant school board has appealed the judge's order finding that it violated the Voting Rights Act and ordering that the school board use cumulative voting going forward.
Read moreFerguson-Florissant School Board Elections Improve with the Voting Rights Act
Posted on What's New Maya Efrati, Drew Penrose on December 01, 2016

After a successful case brought under the Voting Rights Act, the Ferguson-Florissant School Board now joins the more than 200 jurisdictions in the United States which elect their officers using fair representation voting. By giving voters cumulative voting rights, the families of the Ferguson-Florissant School District will have a stronger voice in the education system for their community.
Read moreIllegal Voting Claims by Trump Misconstrue the Real Need for Election Integrity
Posted on Quick News Maya Efrati on December 01, 2016

The recent Presidential election has ignited an enormous amount of discussion regarding both the way that votes for the presidential election are cast, as well as the possibility of fraud in that election system. President-Elect Donald J. Trump claimed that millions voted illegally, but no evidence of this exists.
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