On Tuesday, the nation’s fifth-largest city held runoff elections for its 6th
and 8th City Council Districts – five months after the November general
election. That means duplicative costs to taxpayers, another half a year of
candidate campaigning, and worst of all: a huge decline in turnout. Dear
John,
On Tuesday, Phoenix, AZ held runoff elections for its 6th and 8th City Council
Districts – five months after the November general election. That means
duplicative costs to taxpayers in the nation's fifth-largest city, another half
year of candidate campaigning, and worst of all: a huge declinein turnout. When
all the votes are counted, participation could be cut in half! One candidate
said she hoped turnout in the runoffwould crack 15%.
In the 8th District, Kesha Hodge Washington came in second in November, and
appears to have won the runoff — but there’s a catch. Both candidates are likely
to have fewer votes in the runoff than they did in the initial election! That
means the candidate who got the most votes in this process, Carlos Garcia,
likely won’t be the winner.
With ranked choice voting, the problems inherent with runoffs are eliminated.
The cost is lower, participation is higher, and candidates can save anywhere
from thousands to tens of millions on their campaigns. That helps explain why,
on March 7, two more cities passed RCV for all their big elections – Redondo
Beach (CA) and Burlington (VT).
It’s not just Phoenix… There is also growing interest in ranked choice voting in
major cities like Denver,Philadelphia, andChicago. RCV is taking American cities
by storm!
Announcing a NEW video on proportional ranked choice voting
This week, Americans of all political persuasions are predicting all 63 games of
a college basketball tournament – some of them two times over! There are 9.2
quintillionpotential bracket combinations – it can seem downright complicated at
times!
Thankfully, once they’re done, they can relax and learn about something much
simpler:ranked choice voting(RCV). This improvement to our elections takes just
a few minutes to master, but has a huge impact for fair representation.
This week, we’re excited to share a brand-new videoabout how the proportional
form of ranked choice voting works and why we need it for our elections. Check
it out! Ranked choice voting at the Oscars
This month is also special because it offers the most high-profile annual
demonstration of ranked choice voting outside politics itself: the Academy
Awards. The Academy has used ranked choice to pick its nominees for decades.
They expanded the system to pick the Best Picture winner in 2009 when the
category grew to 10 nominees, because they needed an efficient way to identify a
consensus winner in a crowded field.
RCV has lived up to its promise again and again for selecting a Best Picture
that best represents what the Academy’s voters want – powerful films as
different as Nomadland and The King’s Speech, or Moonlight and The Artist. This
year, enter Everything Everywhere All at Once – a consensus powerhouse which
swept the Oscars, winning in marquee categories like Best Director, Best
Actress, and Best Original Screenplay in addition to Best Picture. The film has
received acclaim for its groundbreaking script, diverse cast, and award-winning
directing – it’s clear that many Academy members passionately support it, and
nearly all members of the Academy can find something about it they like. See Rob
Richie'sRealClearPoliticscommentary from last week for a deeper-dive analysis;
FairVote staff did a string of radio shows and podcasts on the topics as well,
includingWGNandWLS in ChicagoandSave Democracy AZ. Shining light on our Dubious
Monopoly
Last month, our research team released its Dubious DemocracyandMonopoly Politics
reports, with some excellent coverage in publications likePolitico,USA Today,
and theWashington Post.
In Monopoly Politics, we project the outcomes of every congressional race in the
country, two years before they happen and without knowing who the candidates
will be. That’s possible because increasingly, partisanship is the only factor
that matters in election outcomes, and gerrymandering has become so extreme that
voters have little chance of changing the outcome. Next year, we expect just 25
House seats to be highly competitive, compared to 369 that appear to be
completely safe for one party.
In Dubious Democracy, we go state-by-state to determine where voters have the
strongest voice in who represents them, using key factors like voter turnout and
candidates’ margins of victory. The numbers are startling: just 24% of the
voting age population voted for a winning candidate in the 2022 House elections,
meaning a full ¾ of us aren’t represented in the results.
Thankfully, we already know the way to repair our democracy: the Fair
Representation Act(FRA) would give better choices and a stronger voice to every
American, no matter where we live or how much operatives try to gerrymander the
lines. There are urban Republicans, rural Democrats, and independents everywhere
waiting to be heard in Congress, and the FRA would empower them.
Thank you for your support. With your help, we can pass the FRA and move away
from the problems inherent in winner-take-all elections.
Deb Otis,
Director of Research and Policy
Your support makes our work for better elections possible. If you can, please
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