Friends,

2023 was a unique and special year for me and for FairVote. Let’s start with what we seek for our democracy: better elections for all.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) confirmed its place as the fastest-growing nonpartisan election reform in the country. We know RCV is only part of the equation for a healthy and strong democracy. But RCV is essential – and it’s winning:

• Legislators introduced pro-RCV bills in Congress and more than half of the states. The number of state RCV bills doubled from 2022 to 2023; six of these bills passed.
• Oregon’s legislature placed a measure on the 2024 ballot to enact RCV in all statewide elections, including presidential elections. This ballot referral represents the biggest endorsement of RCV by a state legislature ever. 
• Connecticut’s trailblazing state Voting Rights Act establishes that the proportional form of RCV can be used to protect voting rights in communities across the state. That’s the same form of RCV that the federal Fair Representation Act would enact for U.S. House elections.
• Next year, Nevada will vote to confirm its support for RCV statewide. Counting the measures in Nevada and Oregon, and other initiative campaigns collecting signatures right now, as many as six states may vote to establish RCV next year.

There are no guarantees, but recent RCV ballot measures have a track record of success: Voters approved RCV in seven cities this year – marking 27 straight wins on city ballots.

FairVote and FairVote Action were the biggest donors to these city wins, and we anticipate even more cities will vote for RCV in 2024. We also led on advancing RCV legislation in Congress, and worked with both Republican and Democratic state parties to use RCV in several 2024 presidential primaries.

Internally strong with your support

FairVote’s internal strength keeps growing. Led by our Acting CEO Lan Nguyen, VP of Policy and Programs Ashley Houghton, and department directors like Deb Otis, Suvarna Hulawale, Margie Lawlor, Brian Cannon, Shilanda Becnel, and Will Mantell, our staff team now numbers more than 30 people. They provide me with great confidence about our ongoing impact. We also have remarkable Board leadership, led by Danielle Allen as FairVote’s chair and Tom Wathen as FairVote Action’s chair.

Our capable and committed leadership allowed the Board and me to act on what we had long discussed: creating space for FairVote’s next generation of leadership. By this time next year, FairVote will have a new permanent CEO and a new strategic plan for the rest of the decade.

After 31 years leading FairVote, my new Senior Advisor role allows me to be an ongoing source of advice to our team while making time for important projects, including a book on RCV projected to come out in the spring. We all see this as a great win-win for FairVote, for the movement, and for me as I tackle new areas of work that support both FairVote and the broader RCV coalition.

I have always set my sights high, yet we are reaching greater heights even faster than I imagined. We are not only making immense advocacy progress, but are regularly in the middle of our nation’s critically important conversation about the health of our democracy. In just the past two weeks, the Fair Representation Act was spotlighted on NPR’s Morning Edition, and FairVote’s Deb Otis spoke with NPR’s All Things Considered about RCV. Every day, there is an important new media highlight lifting up the value of RCV.

Thank you so much for being part of our community. Our achievements and ambitious plans wouldn’t be possible without your support.

Onward, 

Rob Richie
FairVote Co-Founder and Senior Advisor