Press
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New Study: New Mexico Leads in On-Campus Polls, Equipment Uniformity
- Posted: September 8, 2008
- Categories: Democracy SOS Project, FairVote
New Mexico has uniform voting equipment and sufficient on-campus polling locations for students, but voters may experience problems on Election Day because of inconsistent poll booth allocation, according to a report released today by FairVote, a nonpartisan advocacy group.
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New Study: Missouri May Experience Long Lines on Election Day
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Students use Instant Runoff Voting at U.S. Universities
- Posted: July 9, 2008
- Categories: FairVote
Instant runoff voting (IRV) has been gaining momentum among universities as the preferred mechanism for student elections. Already used by more than half of the nation's top thirty universities for student government elections on campus (based on rankings by U.S. News and World Report), the voting system has been adopted by students for their elections in more than forty colleges and universities nationwide.
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Legislature Debates Extending Instant Runoff Pilot
- Posted: June 30, 2008
- Categories: FairVote
On July 2nd, the North Carolina House standing committee on Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform will consider legislation that would extend the 2006-2007 pilot program allowing cities and counties to try out instant runoff voting. Those expecting to testify in favor of the proposal include leaders of Democracy North Carolina, FairVote North Carolina and the North Carolina League of Women Voters.
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What If They Had a Runoff and Nobody Came?
- Posted: June 26, 2008
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, FairVote
On June 24th election workers had a lonely experience in polling places in North Carolina such a precinct in New Hanover that recorded one vote. After unusually high voter turnout in the May 6 primary timed with the presidential primary, last Tuesday’s runoff elections beat the record of the lowest turnout ever in North Carolina. Turnout for the runoff for the Democratic State Labor Commissioner nomination was less than 2%, dropping to 0.8% in Mecklenburg where the election cost more than $120 per voter. Statewide the Labor Commissioner runoff cost between 3.5 million and 5 million dollars to counties.
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Why Two Elections When One Can Do?
- Posted: June 25, 2008
- Categories: FairVote
South Carolina voters – or at least handfuls of them – went to the polls on June 24th for runoff elections in 11 state legislative elections two weeks after the June 10th initial round. In the district number 4 democratic runoff for State House of Representatives, Paul Corden won a majority with fewer than 7,800 votes after falling short of a majority in early June with 14,968 votes. Overall, turnout declined by more than 48% in his runoff, and declined by at least 20% in nine other runoffs for state office held by Republicans and Democrats. South Carolina taxpayers likely spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on these runoffs; North Carolina’s statewide runoff the same day (one drawing turnout of less than 2% of registered voters) cost $5 million.
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Deconstructing the Media's Clinton-Obama Ouija Board
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Why Three Elections When One Could Do?
- Posted: April 11, 2008
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, FairVote
Louisiana held three runoff elections on April 5th to determine nominees for the May 3rd special election to fill the state’s two vacant congressional seats. Turnout declined by 17% from the first round, including 27% in the Democratic runoff in District 6. Louisiana taxpayers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on these runoffs. On April 7th in California, voters filled a U.S. House vacancy in a single election – something Louisiana used to be able to do before its 2007 law establishing a primary-runoff-general election system that can mean three elections to elect candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.
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Delegating Democracy
- Posted: April 3, 2008
- Categories: FairVote
Political parties have broad authority over how they conduct their nomination procedures, including in primary elections administered by the state. Parties are private associations with protections under the first amendment that enable them to go beyond state and federal laws in expanding suffrage, increasing participation and allowing for more democratic contests. With this flexibility and freedom, parties have great opportunities to review and improve their election systems by incorporating reforms that give more voters an equal voice and an equal vote. From representative delegate allocation regimes to ranked choice voting and expanded suffrage rights, a political party's nomination process can be a true laboratory of democracy. We can start with elections for the president, although parties ultimately could explore reforms even more daringly in state and local elections in areas such as campaign finance.
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Missouri State Senate Hearing On Majority Voting Elections Through Instant Runoff Voting
- Posted: April 1, 2008
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, FairVote
On March 31, 2008, the Missouri Senate Financial, Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee debated legislation that would implement instant runoff voting system in all primary, general and special elections. A majority voting method based on voters having the power to rank candidates in order of choice, instant runoff voting is used in several nations’ elections and in a growing number of American jurisdictions.