Content Categorized with "FairVote"
31 - 40 of 1311 results
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When Barack Obama Was a Leader in Seeking Fair Voting Systems
- Posted: December 20, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Drew Spencer
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Home, FairVote
President Barack Obama has a lot on his mind these days, but the state of our democracy remains critical. Fortunately, judging by Obama's record in the Illinois Senate --where he was the prime sponsor of legislation to advance cumulative voting and instant runoff voting - we haven't had a president as informed about good ideas for taking on electoral reform since James Madison and the founding generation.
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FairVote Chair Krist Novoselic on Democracy and Proportional Representation
- Posted: December 12, 2012
- Author(s): Drew Spencer
- Categories: Home, FairVote
Those in New York City were recently excited to learn that Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl of Nirvana will be reuniting to play at the 12/12/12 benefit concert for those affected by Hurricane Sandy, with Paul McCartney joining them in the role formerly filled by Kurt Cobain. A smaller number may be aware of the critical role Krist Novoselic has played in fighting for reforms to improve American democracy.
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Pennsylvania Senate Leader Pileggi Wrong on Prescription for Electoral College Reform
- Posted: December 3, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: National Popular Vote, FairVote
Pennsylvania's senate majority leader Dominic Pileggi is backing a new plan to divide his state's electoral votes in the 2016 presidential race. While supported as a means to provide a fair reflection of state voters in the Electoral College, the plan has big downsides -- and falls far short of the National Popular Vote plan. Sen. Pileggi should back the National Popular Vote plan and apply his interest in proportional representation to elections for Congress and the state legislature.
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A Representative Congress: Enhancing African American Voting Rights in the South with Choice Voting
- Posted: November 27, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Drew Spencer
- Categories: Reforms, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Home, Redistricting, Voting Rights, FairVote
In southern states, racially polarized elections remain an active part of political life. Since 1965, the Voting Rights Act has guaranteed that African Americans in the South cannot be shut out of elections either through direct barriers to voting or through discriminatory districts that prevent the achievement of representation. However, relying on winner-take-all elections has inherent limitations. In the belt of southern states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, the use of districting to achieve a fairer level of representation for African Americans has hit a ceiling. To push through that ceiling and achieve truly fair representation, FairVote recommends abandoning the single-member district in favor of super districts elected by choice voting.
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Clashing Mandates and the Role of Voting Structures
- Posted: November 20, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Congressional Elections, FairVote
President Barack Obama won the presidential election by more than four million votes and 129 electoral votes, but Mitt Romney has carried a large majority of U.S. House districts and a majority of House seats are held by Republicans representing a district where Obama was defeated. Those facts point to tensions in the months ahead--and to the value of rethinking our voting rules to ensure a level playing field for all.
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Arizona Defeats Top Two Primary: What's Next for Reformers?
- Posted: November 9, 2012
- Author(s): Drew Spencer
- Categories: Reforms, Home, FairVote
As the nation eagerly followed the incoming results of the Presidential election on Tuesday, we at FairVote also kept a keen eye on the results of a handful of electoral reform ballot measures, including Arizona's vote on Proposition 121, the Top Two primary law. We were concerned about the impact that this proposed form of Top Two might have in Arizona. But Prop 121's defeat became apparent early in the evening, with over two-thirds of Arizona voting against it.
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Pledge to Stand with Voters: A New FairVote Initiative
- Posted: November 8, 2012
- Author(s): Elizabeth Hudler, Rob Richie
- Categories: Reforms, Right to Vote Amendment, Home, FairVote
With our pledge to Stand with Voters FairVote asserts that it's time to fight for democratic principle over partisan politicking. Promoting and protecting our representative democracy is far more important than seeking short-term advantage in electoral rules.
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Gains for Women in Senate Help Make Our Case for Representation 2020
- Posted: November 8, 2012
- Author(s): Patricia Hart
- Categories: Congressional Elections, FairVote
Refusing to sit idly by and let the boys have all the fun, women played a lead role in the 2012 presidential election as a key voting bloc. And as candidates, women etched their names into political history with a diverse field of contenders, winning several significant congressional races and achieving many firsts.
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From the Mouth of the President to the Ears of the People: We Have to Fix That
- Posted: November 8, 2012
- Author(s): Elizabeth Hudler
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, Universal Voter Registration, Voting Rights, FairVote
As was expected, problems at the polls abounded on November 6, nationwide. While glitches were reported across the country, voter-rights watchers paid particular attention to the swing states, where obstacles to ballot access in the form of registration ambiguities, voting-day misinformation, voter suppression tactics, and long, exhausting (and cold!) lines had potential to lower turnout and affect outcomes. President Barack Obama in his acceptance speechTuesday night, thanked people for waiting in those lines --- and then added, “By the way, we have to fix that.”
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Press Release: How FairVote Correctly Projected 333 Congressional Races Last July
- Posted: November 7, 2012
- Categories: Congressional Elections, FairVote
FairVote: the Center for Voting and Democracy, a Maryland-based nonprofit analyzing elections and advocating electoral reform, correctly projected 100% of 333 congressional races more than three months before Election Day.