FairVote Blog
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France Elects a New President: Analysis and Five Notable Facts
by Hüseyin Koyuncu, Rob Richie // May 7, 2012 //France elected a new president on May 6 in a majority runoff in which Francois Hollande defeated incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy. FairVote's director and FairVote intern Huseyin Koyuncu, a French student from Sciences Po, report on the election and five notable facts about how France votes.
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Presidential Campaign Strategies Based on Swing States
by Chris Beaulieu // May 4, 2012 //Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are zeroing in on the swing states where either candidate could come out on top in the November elections. However, the unusual amount of attention given to certain states while others are essentially left by the wayside illustrates the problems with the Electoral College system.
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Election Wonk: Growing trend of plurality wins in governors' races
by Lindsey Needham, The Non-Majority Rule Desk // May 7, 2012 //Over the last two years, a staggering 28% of gubernatorial races were awarded to candidates who failed to win 50% of the vote. With so many state executives in power without the expressed consent of the majority, we have to question whether our system successfully functions to deliver the will of the people.
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Snowe-ball Effect: How the Loss of Yet another Congressional Moderate Makes the Case for Election Reform
by Sheahan Virgin // April 25, 2012 //The stunning decision by Olympia Snowe to retire is just the latest example in an alarming series of setbacks for the political center, which is vital to a functioning democracy. What is clear, is that we are living through a period of severe polarization and partisanship, which has had adverse effects on the ranks of moderate politicians. FairVote's unique analysis connects the political center's travails to our damaging winner-take-all election rules and discusses the way in which alternative voting systems could boost moderates like Snowe.
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Kenya Visit Shows Youth Vote Key in Next Presidential Election
by Tyler Sadonis // April 24, 2012 //After a disputed election in 2007 caused violence and chaos across Kenya, the youth are organizing to ensure a different outcome when Kenyans return to the polls in 2013 to elect a new president.
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The 2012 GOP Nomination Contest Affirms Value of New Rules
by Rob Richie, Sheahan Virgin // April 23, 2012 //As the 2012 Republican nomination contest effectively ends, FairVote reviews how the Republican Party's new nomination rules improved the process and proposes how to make both major parties can make it better in 2016.
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Congressional Redistricting Matters, and It's Hurting This Country: a Response to Michael Barone
by Sheahan Virgin // March 22, 2012 //Recently, pundit Michael Barone argued in The National Review that redistricting in 2011 has turned out to “matter less than we thought.” But Barone is mistaken, overly concerned about redistricting’s impact on each major party rather its effect on voters already trapped within a troubling winner-take-all framework. Furthermore, Barone is wrong to say that partisan redistricting in 2011 has produced “clean” lines. It has not. With our unique take on redistricting and focus on voters, not political parties, FairVote sets the record straight in its rebuttle to Barone.
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Puerto Rico and Other Territories Vote in Primaries, But Not in General Election
by Elise Helgesen // March 19, 2012 //The Republican presidential primary in Puerto Rico is a reminder of the lack of federal voting rights for Puerto Ricans and all U.S. citizens living in U.S. territories. Although citizens, they will be unable to vote in the general election for president and Congress.
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Legal Memo on Wisconsin Case Striking Down Voter ID Law Based on State Constitution
by Elise Helgesen // March 9, 2012 //Check out our analysis of a recent Wisconsin case striking down the state's restrictive voter ID law and upholding the right to vote.
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Egypt and the Winner-Take-All Distortion
After previously explaining the hybrid election system recently used by Egypt in its parliamentary elections, we here analyze how use of winner-take-all elections for many seats distorted fair representation of political views and women. Seats elected by proportional representation provided far more representative results.