Content Authored by Rob Richie
31 - 40 of 254 results
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Blame It on Winner-Take-All: Why Our Outdated Voting Rules Cause Congressional Crises
- Posted: October 1, 2013
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy, Rob Richie
- Categories: Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Home
The United States Congress has careened into a government shutdown, and everybody wants to find someone to blame. But in the accusatory frenzy, they're missing the real culprit: the voting rules that drive the political behavior of Congress.
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Pennsylvania's Proportional Electoral Vote Allocation Proposal: A Nationwide Analysis
- Posted: July 24, 2013
- Author(s): Andrea Levien, Devin McCarthy, Rob Richie
- Categories: Presidential Elections, National Popular Vote
FairVote's analysis shows that Pennsylvania state Sen. Dominic Pileggi's proportional electoral vote allocation plan would do little to make presidential elections fairer if implemented nationally.
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Rank the Vote: Comparing Voting in Ireland and the United States
- Posted: June 24, 2013
- Author(s): Robert Fekete, Rob Richie
- Categories: Europe, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Home, International Elections, Elections Worldwide
Since 1919, Ireland has used a form of ranked choice voting for all its public elections. When the Irish think of voting, they think about ranking candidates in their order of preference. But here in the U.S., our conception of voting is usually just picking our one favorite candidate. FairVote examines the lessons we can learn from ranked choice voting in Ireland.
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National Popular Vote Plan Poised to Pass Halfway Mark with New Win
- Posted: June 14, 2013
- Author(s): Andrea Levien, Rob Richie
- Categories: National Popular Vote, Presidential Elections, Home
The National Popular Vote plan is poised to pass its halfway mark to implementation after both houses of the Rhode Island General Assembly passed the bill on June 13th with votes of 30-4 in the Senate and 41-31 in the House. The bill earned real bipartisan support, including more than 75% of members of each major party in the state senate.
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FairVote's Top Ten List: The Breakdown of Winner-Take-All Elections
- Posted: April 26, 2013
- Author(s): Andrea Levien, Devin McCarthy, Rob Richie
- Categories: National Popular Vote, Presidential Elections, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Home
These are the top ten indicators that winner-take-all has led to the breakdown of the American electoral system in both presidential and legislative elections.
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Taking on American Political Dysfunction without Changing the Constitution
- Posted: April 23, 2013
- Author(s): Devin McCarthy, Rob Richie
- Categories: Congressional Elections, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Home
In his draft paper on Political Dysfunction and Constitutional Change, University of California-Irvine professor Rick Hasen makes a powerful case for the need for out-of-the-box thinking on American political reform. But he also makes a curious omission: fair voting.
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Takoma Park Promotes the Vote: Will More Cities, Campuses and Organizations Take Action?
- Posted: April 16, 2013
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Reforms, Felon Disenfranchisement, Voting Rights
Last night, the Takoma Park city council passed a charter amendment on first reading that, if approved when before the council again in the coming month, will be in the best tradition of cities and states leading the nation in advancing voting rights. It would establish same-day voter registration and extend voting rights to residents after they turn 16 and after incarceration. Here's why we think it's important.
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Getting a Real "Colbert Bump" for Women's Representation Takes Fair Voting Systems and Better Party Rules
- Posted: March 29, 2013
- Author(s): Patricia Hart, Rob Richie
- Categories: Reforms, Monopoly Politics 2012 Map
After voters in South Carolina rejected four women running as Democratic Party nominees in the 2012 congressional elections, the state in a special election this May again has a chance elect its first female House members since 1990. The likely continuation of an all-male delegation provides lessons for what it will take to achieve gender parity in Congress: a combination of gender-conscious party rules and fair voting methods.
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New York Times Perpetuates Myth that Current Electoral College Rules Help Small States
- Posted: March 18, 2013
- Author(s): Andrea Levien, Rob Richie
- Categories: Presidential Elections, Home
Last week, The New York Times published a long analysis by Adam Liptak about the advantages conferred on small states by their outsized representation in the U.S. Senate. It's an important and revealing article, but one that is marred by its inclusion of the National Popular Vote as part of its analysis. We do applaud Liptak for discussing the National Popular Vote plan, as it is promises to be an historic reform drive that will change the Electoral College as we know it. But the National Popular Vote plan in no way "counteracts" the excess power of small states. In fact, it does just the opposite, giving voters in small states the attention and electoral clout that they deserve in presidential elections.
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Not Helping America Vote: The Plight of the Un-filled Election Assistance Commission
- Posted: February 26, 2013
- Author(s): Elizabeth Hudler, Rob Richie
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, Home, FairVote
Creating an active EAC is a simple positive step – and one that happens to be the law. Reform should be about systemic, enduring solutions, not just shorter lines. #wehavetofixthat