Why November is going to be a big month for ranked choice voting
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Hi Friend,
Across the country, legislators are messing with elections. In some cases,
it’s been for the better; in Kentucky, they’ve expanded early voting, while
Vermont has adopted vote at home elections. But in many cases, it’s been for
the worse. Legislators in states like Georgia and Illinois are increasingly
trying to tip the scales of elections in their favor.
On the federal level, legislators are debating a slew of voting policies.
Given the divisions in the Senate, it’s likely if a bill does pass, it will do
so on strict partisan lines. It’s a dangerous game; at a time when Americans
need more trust in their elections, a partisan bill may only undercut
Americans’ faith.
Bipartisan compromise on election integrity is possible — just look at states
like Kentucky and Vermont. Our elections are too important to play politics
with.
Here are three things to think about this week:
This could be big for RCV
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Last week, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), along with Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO)
and Angus King (I-ME) introduced the Voter Choice Act, a bill that would
provide $40 million in federal grants to cover up to 50 percent of the cost for
local and state governments that choose to adopt ranked choice voting. The bill
is a major boost for ranked choice voting, which has been rapidly adopted by
municipalities around the country.
This November will be a major demonstration for ranked choice voting, with 30
cities using RCV for elections, and five cities voting whether to adopt the
reform. Maine became the first state to adopt RCV when voters approved the
measure in 2016, and Alaska became the second, adopting RCV last year. The
momentum around RCV is quickly growing; the Voter Choice Act is a major example
of that.Read more about the bill here
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Gerrymandering is bipartisan
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This week, Politico
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takes a look at Illinois, where Democrats — with strong majorities in the
state — are working amongst themselves to determine how much to gerrymander.
Under the latest plan, 14 of 17 seats would be held by Democrats, leaving
Republicans in the state just 3 seats.
With meandering districts that stretch from one side of the state to the
other, the map is an example of just how far the political parties will go to
protect themselves.Lost is any discussion about voters, or what would best
serve them. With safe seats, voters lose the ability to consider real choice
when casting their ballot. It’s politicians choosing their voters, plain and
simple.
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Part of the reason passing legislation is so hard
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Our elections aren’t the only institution in need of reform; Congress needs to
reform itself too. As recent debates over the debt limit have shown us,
Congress has become a woefully out of date institution, with rules and
regulations that make the very act of governing highly inefficient.
This week, our friend Kevin Kosar, senior fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute, writes for the Hill about how truly out of convoluted the process of
lawmaking has become in Congress.While reforming our elections can dramatically
transform who elected leaders are serving, reforming Congress can transform
elected leaders’ ability to get things done.Read his piece here
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Best,
Brett
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Brett Maney
Senior Communications Manager
Unite America
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