Dear Friend --
Before we bid farewell to 2019 and the second decade of the new millennium, the FairVote team wanted to share their favorite media of the year. We also are offering an opportunity to join so many of our loyal backers in making a 2019 charitable donation to bring us into 2020 with as much reform momentum as possible.
The value of getting to the root causes of problems with our democracy is increasingly understood — and we’re proud of FairVote’s central contribution to that change and of our leadership in advancing ranked choice voting and the Fair Representation Act to bring our representatives closer to the people.
Television news rarely gets beyond the issues of the day to explore the solutions for a better tomorrow, but here’s a shout out to NBC and CNBC for in-depth explorations of ranked choice voting that included long background conversations with FairVote.
FairVote created new videos as well, including highlights of the year and excerpts from our Champions of Democracy awards.
As summarized in our news release archive, ranked choice voting had big wins, including for presidential elections in Maine next year, for presidential primaries in several states, for mayor and other local offices in New York City, and for leaders in two Utah cities. FairVote’s voice was regularly part of press coverage, and we regularly lifted up state leaders, including in a telephone news conference with two Members of Congress introducing the Ranked Choice Voting to bring RCV to all future congressional elections.
With FairVote as a key source, the New York Times and the New York Daily News issued editorials in support of the November charter amendment to adopt ranked choice voting that won 73% to 27%.
The Democratic presidential field is even more crowded than the Republican contest in 2016. We sponsored ranked choice voting polls featuring an interactive simulation on our website and exclusive coverage in Vox -- a national primary poll in September and South Carolina primary poll in November. Just this week, New York Times columnist David Leonhardt called for expanded use of RCV in presidential primaries.
FairVote’s senior fellow David Daley was a writing whirlwind, publishing more than 50 commentary and investigative journalism pieces, including in The New Yorker, The Washington Post and The Guardian. David also completed a book, Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy, to be published this March.
We’re making great headway in the “intellectual” case for reform as well as with wins on the ground. Notable new books featuring eloquent calls for ranked choice voting and the Fair Representation Act where authors sought advice from FairVote include Lee Drutman’s Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop, Edward Foley’s Presidential Elections and Majority Rule, and Neal Simon’s Contract to Unite America. Recent books with important calls for FairVote’s reform vision include Rethinking US Election Law: Unskewing the System by Steven Mulroy; Democracy in America? by Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens; One Nation After Trump by EJ Dionne, Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann; and Uncivil War by Greg Sargent.
We head into 2020 with determination and optimism. By 2030, we believe ranked choice voting will be used for elections across the nation -- it speaks powerfully to voters wanting better options and a real chance to be heard. The Fair Representation Act and state variations will advance as the most comprehensive remedy to gerrymandering. Thank you for being part of our reform journey -- and in advance for your year-end donation.
Happy New Year!
Rob Richie, President &
CEO
