John,

We hope you are enjoying your summer! There are so many fun summer festivals and community events, and you can be sure FairVote Minnesota will be there sharing the positive power of Ranked Choice Voting.

Join us at Summer Festivals

This fall, Bloomington, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, St. Paul, and St. Louis Park will use Ranked Choice Voting for their municipal elections. To ensure successful RCV elections with dozens of highly competitive races on the ballot, we want to reach voters in all five cities and encourage them to rank their vote –– starting with community events this summer! 

You don’t need to live in the five cities to help –– you can phone bank and text from wherever you live! 

If you do live in the Twin Cities and can help with voter outreach as well as educating Minnesota voters about the benefits of RCV, we have several upcoming events: 

• West Side Pride in the Park, July 8
• Minnehaha Falls Art Fair, July 14-16
• Hopkins Raspberry Festival, July 15
• Taste of Rondo Block Party, July 15
• Open Streets Glenwood, July 16.

Reply to this email to volunteer at one or more of these and we’ll get back to you right away with details. 

And please mark your calendars! We’ll be at the Minnesota State Fair, August 24 – September 4! Look for more details and volunteer sign-up information later this summer.

FairVote MN at the 22nd Century Conference, July 6-9

The 22nd Century Conference: Forging a People-Powered Democracy is coming to Minneapolis July 6-9! The conference is focused on gathering the pro-democracy movement to build relationships, sharpen strategies, and equip people with the skills and resources to effectively block the rise of the authoritarian movement while advancing pro-democracy strategies and campaigns. FairVote Minnesota will be presenting for two breakout sessions at the conference: 

• Breakout Session 4 Campaigning and Building a Multiracial Coalition under Ranked Choice Voting, on Saturday, July 8, 2:00PM-3:30PM
• Breakout Session 6 Pro Democracy Candidate Program on Sunday, July 9, 9:00AM-10:30AM

You can find out more information about the conference and register HERE.

We are also, along with our co-hosts –– New Justice Project, Vote Run Lead, Clean Elections Minnesota, Protect MN, More Equitable Democracy, Democracy Rising, Common Cause MN, Common Cause NY, Minnesota Voice, Protect MN, and Rank The Vote –– hosting a pre-conference reception, Rank Your Brews & Artists for a Better Democracy, on Thursday, July 6, 2023, 6:30 to 8:30pm at Finnegans Brew Co., 817 5th Ave S, Minneapolis.

You can meet and mingle with other democracy conference attendees from Minnesota and across the country and also learn more about Ranked Choice Voting by ranking your favorite beers and performance artists! Sign up HERE.

Nationwide momentum building for RCV

Ranked Choice Voting continues to make gains across the country –– and a lot happened in just the past few weeks! 

On Tuesday, June 20, Arlington County became the first Virginia jurisdiction to use Ranked Choice Voting –– in its Democratic primary for County Board. In a crowded field of six candidates, and no incumbents, Arlington Democrats selected Susan Cunningham and Maureen Coffey as their nominees. “Both praised the ranked-choice system, noting that it gave representation to two camps of a community that had been split on the missing middle.” 

This past Tuesday, June 27, New York City held its second ranked-choice primary election. There was no mayoral contest, only council races. The election ran smoothly, and with few open races like there were in when RCV was rolled out in 2021, most were not highly contested, or a winning candidate who had earned a majority of voters’ first choices. These primary winners will then compete in the November general election. 

And just last week, Oregon’s state legislature made history by becoming the first in the nation to put a referendum for statewide Ranked Choice Voting on the ballot! Congratulations to our colleagues at Oregon Ranked Choice Voting Advocates –– and most especially to Oregon voters! While this means Minnesota may no longer be the third state to adopt RCV statewide, let’s make sure Minnesota can become the fourth! 

Last session, the Minnesota legislature passed a bill requiring the Secretary of State to study how best to implement Ranked Choice Voting statewide –– the most significant legislative progress to date. However, there is more work ahead. Next session, we will work to pass the local option measure giving more local jurisdictions the authority to adopt RCV if they wish, engage with Secretary Simon on his study, and take more concrete steps towards expanding RCV statewide. Of course, this work takes significant resources, and you can support this work by donating TODAY.

Your support has been and will continue to be critical in advancing this promising reform, and we are so grateful for your partnership. We will keep you updated throughout the summer and fall as we educate voters and prepare for next session. Please continue to talk with your legislators and urge them to make RCV a priority. 

Wishing you a wonderful 4th of July weekend!🇺🇸 

Sincerely,

Your FairVote Minnesota Team

FairVote Minnesota
550 Vandalia Street, Suite 210
Saint Paul, MN 55114
United States 

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