When it comes to the complexities of redistricting, New Mexico is no exception. On May 14th, It's legislative leaders named an 18-member committee to work on the monumental task. In the past, several Congressional redistricting maps have ended up in the courts due to fights over partisanship and incumbent protection - leaving the judicial system to redraw the lines. In the 1960s, however, New Mexico elected its U.S. House seats at-large - and should do so again in a single "super district," but this time witih a proportional voting system providing fairer representation. 

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is about to sign legislation establishing a redistricting plan that distorts partisan representation, breaks up natural communities, underrepresents racial minorities and creates largely noncompetitive races. Super districts with  two three-member districts and a non-winner-take-all voting systemn would dramatically boost fair representation and give all voters competitive choice.

The Arab world is still in trouble. Revolutionary nations Tunisia and Egypt are struggling for a successful, peaceful and democratic transition. Other peoples, especially in Yemen, Jordan and Bahrain, are still fighting for change.  In a blog series introduced on March 22 , I am focusing on what's going on in Arab countries at the center of change.  

Moving beyond rhetoric and labels, Krist Novoselic, FairVote's Board Chair, discusses ways to reinvigorate the political system.Krist writes: "We’ve seen voters coalesce around a celebrity candidate, but we could very well soon see a celebrity-initiated new party."

"How Does an "Election" within an Unrecognized State SIgnificantly Affect the International Community?"

Pauline Lejeune is analyzing the post-election situation in Iraq.

Today, we could not decide on what to order and realizing that we are the voting system experts, we thought it would be great to cast votes before making any decision. Different systems can get different winners and this was a great opportunity to test their fairness and impact.

On March 14th and 21st, French voters elected their 26 regional councils. A main point of interest, beyond the results, is how the semi-proportional system used for the regional elections distorts the electoral dynamics, and how well represented women are.

"And the Candidates are… :: drum roll ::"

FairVote starts a series of comprehensive blog posts about the Iraqi 2010 parliamentary elections, focusing on how Iraq has been working on building an inclusive fair voting system by relying on proportional representation (PR) instead of winner-take-all.