More voice and better choices are on the ballot in tons of jurisdictions



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Hi Friend,



Yesterday, three political advertisements for candidates flashed back-to-back
across my television screen — something Americans across the country are
noticing, and likely you are, too.



It begs an important and recurring question — one that speaks to the core of
the work we do: Do these commercials actually make any real difference come
election day?



It has been reported by the nonpartisan firm AdImpact
<[link removed]> that $9.7 billion
is projected to be spent on political ads during the 2022 election cycle — a
figure surpassing spending in not only all previous midterm cycles but
presidential cycles, too
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. The kicker? The skyrocketing cost of elections comes alongside the
continually decreasing number of seats in Congress that are actually decided in
November (the majority are decided in the primary.) As of now, theCook
Political Report <[link removed]> has
rated 87 percent of congressional seats safe for one party — meaning that the
astronomical amount of money spent between now and November that shows up on
your TV and in your mailbox, at most, only makes a difference in 13 percent of
races.



This country doesn’t need more bucks competing for fewer eyeballs and votes.
What we need are more and better choices on our ballots. We need candidates who
are competing to representall their constituents, not just the special
interests that donate to their campaigns and the party's that support them.This
is what our work in election reform is all about.



With this in mind, here are three other things to consider this week:





It’s time to give runoff elections the boot
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The primary election season has come to a close and media attention has
shifted toward predicting outcomes in November. But before we can look ahead,
let's look back at some key take aways from this primary election season to
understand where we’ve landed.



Here are a few key takeaways that Beth Hladick highlights in her latest blog
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:

* Per research from our friends at FairVote
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statewide office won primaries this year with less than majority support.
* Nine states hold primary runoff elections if a winner doesn’t receive 50%
of the vote (or, in the case of North Carolina, 30% of the vote). This
additional election iscostly to administer
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, (we’re talking millions and millions) and, while they help guarantee
consensus winners, these runoffs at a later date typically have low and
unrepresentative voter turnout.
* Of the 22 districts that held runoff elections for U.S. House contests this
year, on average, just 4.6% of the districts’ voting age Americans cast ballots
to determine nominees.


So, in short, runoffs are costly and unrepresentative. There’s a way to solve
this with aninstant runoff by using ranked choice voting. It creates a more
seamless process for voters and election administrators alike (all while saving
taxpayers’ money!).



Read Beth Hladick’s blog to learn more
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.





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The Silver State could be this election cycle’s “silver” lining
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All eyes have been on Alaska and the impact of its groundbreaking election
reform, and now another state could soon follow suit. Next month, Nevadans will
have the opportunity to vote for an Alaska-style election model: a nonpartisan
primary and ranked choice general election. Currently, Nevada is a closed
primary state,meaning that 600,000 independent or unaffiliated voters are
effectively barred from participating in primary elections
<[link removed]>. However, voting “Yes” on Question
Number 3 in Nevada could flip that script, giving both power and voice back to
a large cohort of presently excluded voters.



Visit the Nevada First Project website to learn more <[link removed]>.


 


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The year of ranked choice voting <[link removed]>

Last week, we shared with you just how big this year is for reform. 2022 will
see the highestever number of states, cities, and municipalities with ranked
choice voting on the ballot! Spreading across the country with undeniable
momentum, ranked choice votingis on the ballot in Nevada, Evanston IL, Ojai CA,
Fort Collins CO, and numerous other jurisdictions
<[link removed]>.



This week, we want to share a new resource from our friends at FairVote, which
can help you discover where ranked choice voting is on the ballot and how you
can get involved in supporting ballot initiatives nationwide.Check out Fair
Vote’s helpful pre-election resource guidehere
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Regards,



Alana
__
Alana Persson
Unite America

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