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John,
Alaska RCV Election Results: Positive Coalition-Builders Win!
What a year – thanks to you!
2022 continued the tremendous momentum for Ranked Choice Voting in Minnesota. Read our year-end recap below for all the success you helped make possible and for steps you can take today to push RCV forward in 2023.
Show up for RCV at the Capitol on January 3
To cap off our amazing work in 2022, we want to start 2023 strong. The Minnesota legislative session begins Tuesday, January 3rd, and we want to show up for RCV legislators on day one! Join us at the State Capitol to thank our RCV supporters and urge all legislators to prioritize and pass Ranked Choice Voting statewide.
Sign up here [www.fairvotemn.org]
We’ll gather from 11:30am-12:30pm outside the Capitol’s House and Senate chambers to greet legislators and also from 2:00-3:00pm at the Rathskeller Café in the Capitol basement for an informal reception with our legislative allies. Feel free to come to either or both events. Please share the registration link, www.fairvotemn.org/Jan3 [[link removed]] , with your friends and contacts. We want as many supporters as possible to show up for RCV statewide.
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2022 Recap
2022 Legislative Session
Last session, the RCV for Minnesota bill continued to gain support. The bill would implement RCV in primary and general elections for state and federal offices and would allow local jurisdictions to adopt RCV if they choose. Introduced in the 2021 session by Rep. Steve Elkins and Sen. Kent Eken with clone or identical bills introduced by Sen. Lindsey Port, Sen. Mary Kunesh, Rep. Cedrick Frazier, and Rep. Esther Agbaje, the RCV legislation was one of the most popular bills in the 2022 legislative session.
Unfortunately, instead of moving forward on this promising democracy reform, the 2022 session demonstrated its necessity. Despite a record-breaking surplus and numerous pressing needs, including reforms to strengthen our democracy, the divided legislature remained gridlocked and left major bills undone and billions of dollars unspent. While many of us were not surprised because we’ve come to expect gridlock and partisanship, it does not have to be this way.
We can change the structure of our system so that elected officials are incentivized to work in a more collaborative manner to address the needs of all Minnesotans. Ranked Choice Voting can help break through the gridlock and bring about a more effective, functioning state government.
The same dysfunction and partisanship also frustrated action on our RCV for Minnesota bill. Despite having more than 60 authors, one of the most popular bills of the session, the Senate immediately blocked it, and the House didn’t prioritize it with no chance in the Senate. To ensure RCV and other blocked election measures were heard, we organized a Rally for Democracy with other democracy reform organizations on May 4 in the Minnesota Capitol Rotunda where hundreds attended and cheered on democracy champions who support protecting and expanding voting rights and passing proven and powerful reforms like Ranked Choice Voting. Gov. Tim Walz spoke at the rally and again reiterated his strong support for RCV.
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2022 Election: Democracy on the ballot
If there was a theme to 2022, it was that this was an election year to strengthen and protect our democracy. From the January 6th hearings that highlighted how close we came to losing our democracy to the ongoing attacks and misinformation about the last election to Supreme Court decisions that took away long-held rights, we understood that it was critical to take action to mitigate extremism and restore majority rule, challenges that RCV is perfectly suited to meet. We were laser-focused on electing candidates committed to strengthening our democracy and who understood that RCV is one of the best tools to meet that goal.
So in the 2022 election season, FairVote Minnesota and our orange t-shirts were EVERYWHERE – from dozens of party caucuses in February to more than 50 senate district and congressional district conventions in the spring and continuing through and to Election Day on November 8 door knocking for pro-RCV candidates!
We continued our hugely successful RCV candidate program, awarding the RCV democracy champion badge, regardless of party, to all candidates committed to supporting and passing RCV statewide; we awarded badges to a total of 128 candidates! Our volunteers phone banked and door knocked on behalf of these candidates, helping to elect the largest number of pro-RCV candidates to the Minnesota legislature ever. A huge thanks to all of you who attended caucuses and conventions, submitted RCV resolutions, and door knocked for RCV democracy champions!
Because of our efforts, we are on the precipice of securing the majority necessary to pass RCV statewide next session! Our work in the campaign cycle to help elect pro-RCV candidates is widely recognized as one of the most visible and effective electoral programs that ensured a pro-democracy trifecta. This effort included strategically identifying candidates in swing districts to support, knocking over 30,300 doors, and calling more than 5,600 voters in those districts to help ensure their victories. Our work was effective, and it was noticed, securing the strong and public commitment from House and Senate leadership and Governor Walz to make RCV a priority this session.
Thanks again to all of you who door knocked, donated and provided other support to make these victories possible.
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FairVote MN events raised the profile of RCV
FairVote Minnesota hosted numerous events to prepare our supporters and voters for this critical election year. After redistricting maps came out in February, we shared our Insider’s Briefing on Minnesota’s political maps and what they mean for Ranked Choice Voting , with experts Peter Wattson and Richard Carlbom who shared their insights on how the new districts would impact Minnesota’s political landscape for 2022 and the years ahead. “Now that we know what the political map looks like,” Carlbom explained, “we must organize in every district to elect pro-RCV candidates to the legislature.” And that’s exactly what we did.
In March, we hosted a series of virtual candidate meet and greets for delegates and community members in state legislative districts with contested endorsements to help educate delegates and voters about the candidates and their stance on Ranked Choice Voting and other democracy reforms ahead of endorsing conventions. From March through May we attended more than 50 senate district and congressional district conventions –– tabling, educating delegates, submitting resolutions and ensuring the prominence and visibility of RCV. Our June fundraiser at the home of Marc Gorelick & Lynn Broaddus helped kick off election season with many RCV candidates in attendance.
We were also able to be back in person at community and other field events educating voters and elected officials about RCV, including the League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference, the Twin Cities Pride Festival, Open Streets East Lake, Bloomington Pride, St. Cloud Pride, League of Women Voters meetings, the Association of Minnesota Counties Conference, and of course the Minnesota State Fair! It was really gratifying to be back in person talking to voters about the promise of RCV. FairVote MN’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Erin Zamoff, gave a TED Talk on RCV at TEDx Edina – which we’ll share as soon as it becomes available. And our Executive Director Jeanne Massey was invited to present at the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers (NANR) Summit in San Diego earlier this month. Our colleagues across the country were excited to hear about our successful RCV candidate program, the first of its kind in the nation, giving hope to reformers in other states about the possibility of passing RCV through a state legislature.
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In addition to the May rally at the Capitol, FairVote Minnesota organized several events focused on strengthening and protecting our democracy. In September, we hosted Ranked Choice Voting: Pushing Back Extremism & Protecting Our Rights with special guests Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan Senate Minority Leader Melisa Lopez Franzen focused on the power of RCV to mitigate extremism, ensure political leaders are motivated to work on behalf of the majority and encourage more women to run and win public office.
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And we closed out the year with a spectacular event, The Pro-Democracy Trifecta and Passing RCV Statewide , to celebrate our victories and prepare for the coming session, featuring Congressman Dean Phillips, Congresswoman Mary Peltola, Senator-Elect Kelly Morrison, Representative Cedrick Frazier, and longtime supporters Penny and Bill George. It was thrilling to have Congresswoman Peltola – the first statewide official elected in Alaska through RCV, and the first Alaska Native and first woman to represent Alaska in the U.S. House – join the event via Zoom. Peltola stated that she “would not have been elected without Ranked Choice Voting, and that RCV helped keep the campaigns more civil.” She built a broad bi-partisan coalition of support by proactively seeking first, second, and third-choice votes. She is a strong supporter of this important reform and is looking forward to Minnesota joining Alaska as the next state to adopt RCV statewide.
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Our hope for RCV statewide is not just a dream but a real opportunity within our reach. We have our plan to pass RCV statewide, and we just need every one of you to join us.
As the year comes to an end, reaching our year-end fundraising goal is critical to ensuring we can build the program and team to pass RCV in 2023. If you’ve not yet had the chance to make a year-end gift, it’s not too late. Will you make a donation today and help us keep meet that goal? [[link removed]]
Thank you for your tremendous support in 2022 and for your dedication as we embark together on this historic effort to bring RCV statewide.
We hope to see you at the Capitol on Jan. 3!
Sincerely,
Your FairVote Minnesota Team

FairVote Minnesota
550 Vandalia Street, Suite 210
Saint Paul, MN 55114
United States
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