Friend,
Amidst the challenges of a
pandemic, it is encouraging to see growing hope for winning electoral
reform and FairVote’s long-time goals: new uses of ranked choice
voting; a slew of upcoming ballot measures; a “tournament” win; and
ranked choice voting being featured on Netflix and a prominent
commission report.
RCV is not necessarily at the forefront of people's
minds as millions of Americans lift up their voices to oppose
police violence and systemic racism. FairVote’s core values are that
voices need to be heard and that all votes should be counted. We
aspire to a peaceful and just society where our government represents
all of us and stand in solidarity with champions for racial equality.
Although not to be overstated, there are connections between that
urgent goal and reforming our elections. In one timely new article,
our Executive VP for Policy and Programs Khalid Pitts addressed RCV
and voter disenfranchisement in this op-ed in The Hill.
We hope our overview of reform
progress inspires you as much as it has inspired us.
Major Democracy Commission Embraces FairVote’s Reform Goals
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship recently issued its final report that features adoption of RCV and incentives for proportional voting among recommendations for congressional elections. FairVote was a resource to the Commission, presented its co-chair Danielle Allen with our Champion of Democracy award last fall, and will collaborate in building support for its recommendations.
Presidential Primaries and Party Contests Showcase Ranked Choice Voting
This year, more than two-thirds of Democratic voters in the Nevada presidential caucuses and all voters in four Democratic Party-run presidential primaries cast RCV ballots. FairVote provided on-the-ground education support to voters in Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas and Wyoming after FairVote Action had helped secure these wins. Voter turnout soared, voters handled RCV ballots remarkably well, and far more votes counted for delegates.
With RCV, voters do not have to choose between the candidate they felt represented them and the candidate they thought was most likely to stay in the race. If RCV had been used across all presidential primaries, more than two million voters who backed candidates who dropped out before their state’s primary would instead have had their vote help a backup earn delegates.
Take Action! If you live in Hawaii, Wyoming, Alaska, or Kansas and voted in these elections -- or know others that did -- please let us know what the experience was like for you. Email us at [email protected] or tag us on Twitter (@FairVote) or Facebook (FairVoteReform).
RCV Featured on Minhaj’s Netflix Series, in Books, and in FairVote Writings and Events
Take time to watch Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act excellent June 21st episode, which is dedicated entirely to RCV and the problems it addresses.
It’s been a special year for books featuring RCV, including:
-
FairVote’s Dave Daley chronicles the
voting rights and electoral reform movements that are sweeping the
nation, including RCV in Maine, in Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back
to Save Democracy
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Katherine Gehl and Harvard Business
School’s Michael Porter’s The Politics Industry: How Political
Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our
Democracy makes a
compelling case against a broken system and calls for RCV.
-
Maplight’s Daniel Newman’s new graphic
book Unrig: How to Fix our Broken
Democracy includes creative
explanations of RCV and proportional representation.
- Earlier books making the case for RCV and/or the Fair Representation Act included Lee Drutman’s Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop, Neal Simon’s Contract to Unite America, and Edward Foley’s Presidential Elections and Majority Rule.
As reported here, major newspapers editorialized in favor of RCV this spring, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and papers in Buffalo, St. Louis and San Antonio. The magazine Fast Company picked the RCV Act (HR 4464) as a “World Changing Ideas” finalist.
My colleagues and I had regular
opportunities to speak, including this well-attended briefing, where Unite America released a new report supporting expanded use of RCV in
presidential primaries. You can track our many published op-eds on our
Twitter and Facebook pages.
Important Advances for RCV
Nationally and In States and
Cities
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The State of Virginia passed two local
options bills for RCV,
enabling cities to opt into RCV in 2021. Arlington County is poised to
act after its local Democratic party regularly chooses candidates with
RCV, including this spring for a county board nominee and for school board candidates.
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RCV won big on the ballot in Maine’s largest city of Portland in
March. After three mayoral elections with RCV, 81% of voters backed
expanding RCV to all city offices in a campaign led by the League of
Women Voters of Maine and its Portland allies.
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RCV is heading to statewide
ballots. in November.
Massachusetts will vote on passage of Maine-style RCV. At least one
state (Alaska) will vote on a package of changes that includes RCV in a “Top
Four primary,” as might North Dakota and Arkansas. Other city councils may join Albany, CA and Eureka, CA in placing RCV on the ballot, including
San Diego and cities in Minnesota and Vermont.
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At the League of Women Voters US biennial
convention this month, 93%
of its 1,143 delegates voted to approve a new position to “support
electoral systems at each level of government that encourage
participation, are verifiable and auditable and enhance representation
for all voters.” This position enables LWVUS and its state and local
ams to advocate for ranked choice voting and proportional
voting.
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The Fulcrum held a series of reader votes to choose
among 64 reform proposals in its “Democracy Madness” tournament.
RCV was the champion, defeating the National Popular Vote plan
in the final round.
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The number of colleges and universities using RCV for
student elections soared
past 75, with 13 new adoptions and uses including Auburn, George
Washington, Swarthmore, UC Santa Cruz, and the Universities of
Houston, Michigan, and Wyoming.
-
The Academy of Motion Pictures uses
the proportional form of RCV for nearly all its Oscar nominations and
now will do so for Best Picture
nominees; RCV was already
used to pick the Best Picture winner. The Academy expanded its use of
RCV to elect its governing Board; RCV winners this year included Whoopi Goldberg and Ava
DuVernay.
-
Basalt, Colorado in April used RCV in its three-candidate race for
mayor. In November, Benton
County (OR) will use RCV for the first time, joining five other cities
in California and Maryland.
-
State groups continue to form and build support for
change. Among many examples:
- Voter Choice Connecticut worked with allies in the legislature to raise a bill to establish a task force to study RCV.
- FairVote Washington’s webinar series included A Conversation with David Daley and Ranked-Choice Voting: Diversity in Democracy and Fair Representation
- Rank My Vote Florida boasts active groups in Sarasota, Jacksonville, Miami, and Gainesville.
FairVote’s Week of Action for RCV and Safe and Fair Elections
In May, hundreds of volunteers and local advocates came together for a Week of Action. A quick look at some of the numbers:
- 150 of you attended our kickoff webinar and collaborated on ways to bring RCV to your communities.
- More than 500 of you used RankIt.Vote to show what RCV looks like in action.
- Hundreds of you reached out to governors to call for safe and fair elections this November (see our resource page on handling the impact of Covid-19 on election).
Visit our week of action summary to take action and encourage others to join you!
Staff and Board Changes
FairVote’s team is growing. You’ve heard from Ashley Houghton, our new Communications Director. Khalid Pitts has joined us as the Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Programs, and Jennifer Nassour joined our Board of Directors. With your support we expect to hire several new staff this fall. At the Board level, Krist Novoselic, Cynthia Terrell, Bill Redpath, Paul Jacob, Joe Swimmer, and Susannah Wellford made way for new leadership after 68 years of collective service. Our thanks to all of them!
We’re especially excited to see Maine voters use RCV for their July primary elections and their November general elections -- potentially for president. We can’t wait to see more voters benefit from RCV! If you’d like to contribute towards our efforts, please donate here. We also urge you to consider donations to national partners and state leaders.
Wishing you health, comfort and a vote that counts,
