FairVote Blog
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Presidential Campaign Attention: Why Most States Aren't Worth Any Despite Their Generosity
by Andrea Levien, Presidential Tracker // November 1, 2012 //For the past two months, FairVote has been highlighting the inequality that the winner-take-all method of allocating electoral votes perpetuates: swing states are targetted and safe states are not. However, another type of inequality to consider is the inequality this rule creates between wealthy and non-wealthy safe state residents. Wealthy residents in every state are targetted at fundrairsers, as they provide a good portion of the money funding the campaigns. Low and middle income swing state residents are targetted because they provide votes that could swing a state to one candidate or another. Low and middle income safe state residents, on the other hand, are out of luck.
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New Report Analyzes the Effect of Top Two in Washington State
by Drew Spencer // October 25, 2012 //The Top Two primary system has drawn increasing attention as a way to reform our elections. Instead of conducting ordinary partisan primaries, Top Two jurisdictions run an open preliminary in which all candidates run against each other irrespective of party label. Then, the two candidates who receive the most votes run against each other again in the general election. In a new report, FairVote takes a "just the facts" approach to how Top Two has operated in Washington State since 2008.
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FairVote Report: Low Turnout Plagues U.S. Mayoral Elections, but San Francisco is Highest
by Devin McCarthy, Rob Richie // October 24, 2012 //A new dataset compiled by FairVote reveals that low voter turnout is pervasive in recent mayoral elections in the 22 largest U.S. cities.
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Putin's United Russia Wins Resounding Victories in Local Elections
by Sara Helmi, Devin McCarthy // October 18, 2012 //As the results of Russia's October 14 local elections show, the rumors of United Russia's death have been greatly exaggerated. But did Vladimir Putin's party manipulate Russia's electoral laws to keep power?
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Yet Again, Just Three States Draw The Majority of Campaign Attention: Presidential Tracker Update, October 17, 2012
by Andrea Levien, Presidential Tracker // October 17, 2012 //This election cycle, the three largest battleground states - Florida, Ohio, and Virginia, together representing about 12.5% of the nation - are receiving the majority of campaign attention as measured by both ad spending and campaign events with presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Florida and Ohio were among the three states in the same position in 2004 and 2008, but Virginia has displaced Pennsylvania as the third most coveted state.
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Opposition Parties Win First Round of Lithuanian Elections
by Sara Helmi, Devin McCarthy // October 17, 2012 //Lithuania's conservative government is likely to be toppled following a defeat in the October 14 national elections. Lithuania uses a combination of open list proportional representation and a winner-take-all runoff system based on geographic constituencies to elect its legislature.
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Election Simulations From 1960-2008 Show That Electoral College Rules Don't Help Either Party, but Do Harm American Democracy
by Andrea Levien, Rob Richie // October 12, 2012 //By simulating 50-50 ties in the national popular vote for president, FairVote demonstrates that the Electoral College does not systematically harm or help either major party. We also demonstrate that in six of the past thirteen elections, a near tie in the national popular vote would have elected the wrong winner.
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New Report Highlights Our Primary Turnout Problem
by Rob Richie // October 11, 2012 //A new report on plunging turnout in federal primary elections underscores a crisis of non-participation in American elections -- one that is far more pronounced and troubling in primary elections and city elections than for higher-profile elections for president and Congress. There are concrete actions we could take to boost participation and give voters more choice and better representation in our elections.
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How New Mexico Lost Its Swing
New Mexico is no longer a swing state. Therefore, it should no longer expect any attention from either presidential campaign. Why did this happen and what does it mean for other states in the 2016 election?
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Swing States and Swing Media Markets: Presidential Tracker Update, October 3, 2012
by Andrea Levien, Presidential Tracker // October 3, 2012 //There are 34 days left before Election Day, and the candidates have yet to campaign in 40 states since the end of the Democratic National Convention, which ended September 7. But don't take that to mean that the candidates are sitting on their laurels. Read here where the candidates have been spending their time and money during the month of September.