FairVote Blog
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Why James Madison Wanted to Change the Way We Vote For President
by Devin McCarthy, Rob Richie // June 18, 2012 //James Madison helped to create the Electoral College, but he never supported the way we vote for our presidents today. Find out what Madison would change about our current electoral system.
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Lessons Learned from Egypt's Presidential Runoff: The Case for Using an Instant Runoff Ballot
by Erin Ellis, Arab Spring Series // June 15, 2012 //On June 14, Egypt's high court disbanded the nation's parliament elected last winter, arguing that the candidates should have run without party affiliation. The ruling makes this weekend's presidential election all the more important, as the president will become the only national government leader who has been elected and will not have a parliament to check his decisions. This blog post analysis thus takes on even greater importance.
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Hanging by a Thread: Egyptian Democracy After the June 18 Coup
by Erin Ellis // June 25, 2012 //In the aftermath of a military "coup" staged on June 18, the future of Egyptian democracy looks precarious. In retrospect, the situation might have been prevented if Egypt had used proportional representation to elect its parliament in the first place.
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Dispelling the Major Legal Arguments Against the National Popular Vote Compact
by Jessica Heller // June 11, 2012 //Opponents of the National Popular Vote Compact have put forward various legal arguments against the NPVC, including that it violates several provisions of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Voting Rights Act. However, the NPVC is well within the constitutional and legal bounds of state power, and should withstand any legal challenges.
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The Constitutionality of the National Popular Vote: Refuting Challenges Based on Article II, Section One
by Elise Helgesen, Rob Richie // June 7, 2012 //The National Popular Vote plan withstands major constitutional challenges raised by opponents. Particularly, when analyzed in light of McPherson v. Blacker, it is clear that NPV is valid under Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.
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Romney Tracker: Swing states, fundraising states and who else?
by Jared Gay // June 6, 2012 //We are tracking Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama's public events throughout this campaign season to see what their travel behavior reveals about our voting rules. This post focuses on Mitt Romney's events since April 24, 2012.
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Does Florida's increasingly diverse Latino population have the last word on Decision 2012?
by Bethany Robinson // June 1, 2012 //An examination of Florida's increasingly diverse Latino population and its effect on the 2012 election.
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Presidential Tracker and State Strategies: June 26, 2012
by Erin Ellis, Jared Gay // June 26, 2012 //Our Presidential Tracker series is now releasing semiweekly news updates on Romney and Obama's whereabouts and state strategies.
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Americans' View of Government Shaped by Student Government Experience
by Neema Ghavimi // June 1, 2012 //Civics lessons students learn in schools have an impact on how they view government when they are older. Students' civics experiences or lack of experiences starting from elementary school all the way through college can shape the way they view our politics today. I'll use my own experience as an example.
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Presidential Tracker and State Strategy: June 28
by Erin Ellis // June 28, 2012 //The latest news on the POTUS 2012 campaign trail: Barack Obama prepares for his own swing state bus tour; Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania could be the three key swing states to win; Obama enjoys an advantage among Latinos, which could give him a lead in swing states.