The Case for Ranked Choice Ballots for Military and Overseas Voters
Posted on What's New on August 14, 2013
States and local jurisdictions that use runoff elections with sequential balloting seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to respecting the votes of their deployed military and other absentee voters. Ranked choice voting gives these places the best of both worlds.
Read moreFairVote's Fix for Top Two in California
Posted on What's New on June 18, 2013
FairVote has consistently been at the forefront of critical analysis of Top Two. Now, we are proud to announce a new Policy Perspective detailing a simple reform that could help to resolve nearly all of Top Two's maladies in a way that both accommodates the goals of Top Two supporters and the criticisms of its opponents.
Read moreHelp FairVote MN's Ranked Choice Voting Video Win Thousands of Dollars For Fairer Elections!
Posted on What's New on May 15, 2013
Today is the last day to show your support for ranked choice voting and FairVote Minnesota in the [email protected] contest. Vote now!
Read moreWhen Barack Obama Was a Leader in Seeking Fair Voting Systems
Posted on What's New Rob Richie, Drew Penrose on December 20, 2012
President Barack Obama has a lot on his mind these days, but the state of our democracy remains critical. Fortunately, judging by Obama's record in the Illinois Senate --where he was the prime sponsor of legislation to advance cumulative voting and instant runoff voting - we haven't had a president as informed about good ideas for taking on electoral reform since James Madison and the founding generation.
Read moreFairVote's First Take on RCV Elections in Four Bay Area Cities
Posted on What's New Mollie Hailey on November 12, 2012
Ballots for Tuesday’s ranked choice voting (RCV) elections in four cities in the Bay Area are still being counted, but it is clear that RCV has again worked well. FairVote found that voters used the system effectively, election officials were smart to make it a true "instant runoff" and candidates of color again were elected in high numbers.
Read moreNew Report Analyzes the Effect of Top Two in Washington State
Posted on What's New Drew Penrose on October 25, 2012
The Top Two primary system has drawn increasing attention as a way to reform our elections. Instead of conducting ordinary partisan primaries, Top Two jurisdictions run an open preliminary in which all candidates run against each other irrespective of party label. Then, the two candidates who receive the most votes run against each other again in the general election. In a new report, FairVote takes a "just the facts" approach to how Top Two has operated in Washington State since 2008.
Read moreFairVote Report: Low Turnout Plagues U.S. Mayoral Elections, but San Francisco is Highest
Posted on What's New on October 24, 2012
A new dataset compiled by FairVote reveals that low voter turnout is pervasive in recent mayoral elections in the 22 largest U.S. cities.
Read moreRevealing Evidence of Who Votes — and Who Doesn't — in Local Elections
Posted on What's New Stephen Mortellaro on September 27, 2012
Demographic data reveals interesting trends in voter turnout in the recent Takoma Park election using instant runoff voting.
Read moreTodd Akin and Non-Majority Rule
Posted on What's New on August 24, 2012
Having just completed his 6th term in the U.S. House, Republican Todd Akin is widely known as Missouri's controversial Senate candidate. As the media scorns his comments about rape and pregnancy, many wonder how Akin came to office in the first place, which presents an opportunity to step back and examine the system that put him in power. What have we got here? A case of plurality voting and the unrepresentative legislator.
Read moreNorth Carolina's Miniscule Runoff Turnout Undercuts Legitimacy
Posted on What's New on July 23, 2012
A higher percentage of Americans believe in vampires than voted in North Carolina's July 17th primary runoff for nominations for Congress and key statewide offices. Unless North Carolina wants to risk a vampire or a similarly extreme candidate winning an election, it needs to change its runoff system. Instant runoff voting is the solution.
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