Wish John Anderson a Happy 90th Birthday! Sign his Birthday card here!

Former United States presidential candidate John B. Anderson, who received 6 million votes as an independent candidate in 1980, served as chair of FairVote from 1996 until 2008 after four years as chair of its Advisory Board.

John’s recent media appearances include the BBC, NPR and C-SPAN among others. He is a frequent lecturer and expert commentator on issues of electoral reform, United Nations reform, foreign affairs, American politics, and independent candidacies.

Between 1961 and 1981, Mr. Anderson served ten terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 16th District of Illinois. He served on the House Rules Committee and for a decade was Chairman of the House Republican Conference.

John Anderson's FairVote Bio on YouTube

Read more on John Anderson in the Harvard Law Bulletin

Watch a video tribute to John Anderson

Click here to sign John Anderson's Birthday Card. (Please Ignore the giftcard request)

A Message from Krist Novoselic 

Dear FairVote supporters and friends,

It is a privilege and honor to serve as Chair of FairVote. I am proud to be associated with a positive, forward thinking, non-partisan group. 

Today, February 15, marks the 90th birthday of the man whose reform vision has been central to our work, former Congressman and 1980 independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson. 

When I tell people who are unfamiliar with our organization that John B. Anderson sits on our Board, it never fails to perk a good reaction. It is wonderful to work with a person holding such rich and first hand experience. I do not know any other people who refer to President Ford as “Gerry” (a sentimental reference to his friend and US House colleague). 

John continues to influence our work with FairVote. Just today, he called our executive director Rob Richie to urge us to ask everyone to write a letter to the New York Times echoing his belief that the trajectory of suffrage in America must always be forward. In that spirit, please consider writing a letter (email it to letters[at]nytimes[dot]com). You can see the commentary by historian Alex Keyssar that sparked John’s call and FairVote’s resources on upholding the right to vote.

I have another request of you: let’s wish John a happy 90th birthday. We’ve set up this link on our website about John, with highlights of his reform writings and information on how to join FairVote board members in sending your best wishes to John.

John agreed to our plan, but on one condition: that we ask you to give generously to FairVote to carry out our ambitious plans for 2012.

To underscore our appreciation of John and commitment to FairVote, the Board has committed to match every dollar that is given to FairVote for the rest of February. If you give $50, that means $100 for our transformative work. If you give $250, it means $500. If you give $500, it means $1,000. And as FairVote is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, your donation is also fully tax-deductible.

Please give generously through our secure donation portal or through the mail to:

FairVote
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 610
Takoma Park, MD 20912

Let me say again how proud I am to be chair of FairVote. There is so much we can do to make politics a place where people can come together for the common good. Our energetic staff and volunteer interns are already making a big impact in 2012, from Rob Richie being featured in the New York Times and on CSPAN, to publishing op-eds on proportional voting, to helping San Francisco choose to improve ranked choice voting, to promoting reform proposals in states like the National Popular Vote plan and voter pre-registration for young people.

Please join me in wishing John a very happy birthday and people from around the nation in making a donation to FairVote on his behalf this month.

Sincerely yours,

Krist Novoselic
Chair, FairVote

Full Articles by John Anderson

A Better Approach to Boosting Minority Representation?
Christian Science Monitor / July 6, 1993

A Better Way To Vote
John B. Anderson and Robert Richie
Legal Times / May 17, 2004

Foreword to Every Vote Equal (3rd edition, 2010)

Let the most popular candidate win: Instant runoff voting is simple and effective
Christian Science Monitor / September 28, 2007

Tired of partisan gridlock? Reforming electoral rules gives voters real choice.
Christian Science Monitor/ September 1, 2011