Even if you're not paying attention, gerrymandering is happening...
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Hi Friend,

 

What would our political system look like if our elected officials tried to
represent all of us, instead of just their base?

 

What would it look like if politicians thought as much about the voters of the
opposite party as they did about their own? If instead of Democrats or
Republicans, they thought of their district as simply constituents?

 

It sounds trite, but it’s a surprisingly out of reach concept for so many of
our elected officials. Our political system is structured in such a way that
only the voices of a handful of votersactually matter. Ensuring reelection is
about ensuring the support of the handful, serving the handful. Everyone else?
Might as well not exist. 

 

Here are three things to think about this week: 

What would Final-Five look like IRL?
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Among other reasons, we support Final-Five Voting (the powerful combination of
nonpartisan primaries and ranked choice voting)because it encourages candidates
to look at their district as a united community, rather than two opposing
factions.In the Houston Chronicle
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, this week, R Street fellow Matthew Germer explains how such a system could
have encouraged candidates in Texas’s 6th Congressional District to run a
different type of race in the special election earlier this month. 

 

The two emerging candidates from that race — Republicans Susan Wright and Jake
Ellzey — emerged with support that, when combined, represented just one third
of the district. Under a Final-Five system, voters would see more choice and
nuance on the ballot. Germer writes, “Under Final-Five Voting, however, the top
five vote-getters from the primary would have moved on, rather than just Wright
and Ellzey. The field would have included three Republicans (Wright, Ellzey and
former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Chief of Staff Brian
Harrison) as well as two Democrats (Sanchez and Shawn Lassiter).”



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Could we see RCV grow in Virginia?
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Ranked choice voting is having a bit of a *moment* lately. Alaska joined Maine
as the second state to use ranked choice voting statewide, Utah municipalities
are choosing to adopt the program, and New York City is poised to become the
biggest test case for the system with their primary elections next month.
Meanwhile Virginia — a commonwealth where progress on voting rights has long
stalled (until recently) — may soon join the pack.


In the Washington Post
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, State Senator Adam Ebbin argues that ranked choice voting could help Virginia
better represent its people. He argues, “... election experts agree that
ranked-choice voting isn’t designed to be partisan. Reliably blue localities in
California, Oregon and Massachusetts rely on ranked-choice voting, and
Republican strongholds Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana use ranked-choice
ballots for overseas voters in runoffs statewide.In other words, this doesn’t
benefit one party over another. It benefits voters.”



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A reminder that redistricting matters
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I’ll end today with a reminder: right now, legislative maps are being redrawn,
and it’s up to all of us to make sure that they’re done fairly. Right now,
across all 50 states, legislative maps, on both the state and federal level,
are being redrawn. In a lot of cases, these maps will determine who represents
you, and how. FromTexas
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,Utah
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toNew Hampshire
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,Washington
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toFlorida
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, your political future is being decided now. Don’t sit back. 

 

Pay attention. Get involved <[link removed]>.
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Brett
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Brett Maney
Senior Communications Manager
Unite America
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