Dear John --
As we approach the halfway point of 2022, the fraught nature of our national politics is on display nearly every day. Stakes are high, and far too many Americans feel their voice is not heard, their ballot choices too limited, and their governance overly polarized.
FairVote is proud of our role in advancing a positive electoral reform agenda designed to address those problems. Ranked choice voting is getting key wins, the coalition behind RCV keeps growing, and the case for a more fundamental rethinking of winner-take-all elections grows more powerful amidst another round of gerrymandered and unrepresentative elections. This is a time to think big, act smart, and make the 2020’s a decade of change.
I wanted to share a few highlights:
Six wins for ranked choice voting in state legislatures: Hawaii’s governor David Ige signed legislation this month that establishes ranked choice voting for most congressional and local government vacancy elections. This long-time reform priority for FairVote and Common Cause Hawaii makes Hawaii the third state that will use RCV for at least some congressional elections and the 9th state where voters can cast RCV ballots in federal elections. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation establishing a state Voting Rights Act that includes proportional RCV as an option to remedy vote dilution in local government. See our update on legislation in 24 states, with wins in six states.
RCV is on at least five November ballots, including one for proportional RCV: Ranked choice voting will be on the November ballot in at least five jurisdictions around the country: via charter commissions in four cities and a city council vote in one more. Additional cities and Nevada could also add RCV to their ballots before Election Day. A charter commission in Oregon’s largest city of Portland voted 17-3 for an overall package that includes RCV for all offices and the proportional form of RCV for city council races with an approach very much like the Fair Representation Act FairVote supports for Congress. See our 2022 ballot measure overview here.
RCV to play a central role in congressional elections in Maine and Alaska starting in August: Alaska will use ranked choice voting in August to decide a special election for Congress in a race with three candidates, Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich and Democrat Mary Peltola; I discussed the race earlier this month with Roll Call. Voters in Alaska in August also will vote in regularly scheduled primary elections that will set up RCV contests for Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and state legislature. Track developments with Alaskans for Better Elections. RCV will also be used in November’s closely watched rematch for Maine’s 2nd congressional district, among Representative Jared Golden, former Representative Bruce Poliquin and independent Tiffany Bond. Golden unseated Poliquin in 2018, in the first-ever congressional election decided with RCV.
RCV in action and Republican primaries: In addition to the big upcoming RCV races in Maine, Alaska, and cities like San Francisco and Oakland, it has already been used this year in citywide elections in Portland, ME, by Republicans in three congressional primaries in Virginia, and in state legislative primaries in Maine. In Virginia's 10th congressional district, a 10-candidate Republican primary wasn’t decided until the 8th round, with 97% of voters ranking one of the final-round candidates.
Impressive support for RCV for presidential and congressional elections: The new issue of Democracy Journal features a fascinating project about what a revamped federal Constitution might look like, with an impressive group of scholars agreeing on changes. The section on elections is spot-on for those who have followed FairVote’s reform vision over the years: ranked choice voting for all congressional elections, including with multi-member districts as an American form of proportional representation; a national popular vote for president decided by RCV; and a constitutionally affirmed right to vote.
Thought leadership on gerrymandering, the Electoral Count Act, and electoral systems: FairVote’s team of thought leaders includes senior fellows David Daley and Mike Parsons. The author of perhaps the most influential book on partisan gerrymandering in history, Daley has been a constant voice over the course of the spring on the latest round of redistricting, what it means for voters, and what to do about it, including this recent piece for The Hill. Last year, Parsons led a deep dive into how best to modernize the Electoral Count Act, with public posts like this one and impactful private engagement with groups seeking changes; the legislation is one of the few bills on elections that may get to the president’s desk this year. Our research team, headed by Deb Otis, is publishing reports like this one on how RCV worked in Utah cities last year. To find out more, keep up with the FairVote blog and sign up for deep-dive analyses of our elections and reform at the DemocracySoS substack sponsored by FairVote and edited by Steven Hill, with regular contributions from me and FairVote colleagues and allies.
Staff Expanding to Meet the Needs of 2022 and Beyond: We are thrilled to add new members to FairVote’s staff, including Yasmin Khan, FairVote’s new Vice President of Development. Yasmin brings over 25 years of fundraising, nonprofit management, and communications experience to FairVote in mission-driven organizations, most recently as VP of Development at RepresentUs. Two new staff members have also joined our recently-created Research Department under the direction of Director of Research Deb Otis: Rachel Rappaport and Sabrina Laverty have both joined FairVote as Research Analysts after careers in election reforms and social work data analysis, respectively. Florence Garmoos has also joined FairVote’s finance team as an accountant. FairVote’s new development hire and newly elevated research team mark significant milestones in our organization’s strategic plan as we scale to meet the needs of the movement to enact ranked choice voting and the Fair Representation Act.
We’ll be celebrating 30 years of FairVote on July 25 in DC: We’re looking forward to connecting with allies and supporters in Washington, D.C. on the early evening of July 25th. Expected speakers will include Members of Congress like Teresa Fernandez and Don Beyer. Find out more by writing Celia Calhoun at [email protected].
Lastly, if the news of this past
week also concerns you, particularly the gnawing feeling that our
government’s ability to accurately represent its citizenry is waning,
you’re not alone. The urgency for ranked choice voting and the Fair
Representation Act has never felt stronger in our organization’s
history. Kathryn Murdoch, one of our 2022 FairVote Award honorees,
spoke on this briefly earlier this year.
Thank you for reading and to the thousands of you who support us with time and dollars. With ongoing determination that change is coming!
Best-
Rob Richie
FairVote
http://www.fairvote.org/
