Content Categorized with "Research & Analysis"
21 - 30 of 105 results
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Zimbabwe: Fairer Election Methods, but Trouble at the Polls
- Posted: August 19, 2013
- Author(s): Andrew Douglas, Matt Sommerfeld
- Categories: Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Middle East and Africa, Research & Analysis, International Elections, Home, FairVote, Elections Worldwide
The addition of proportionally allocated seats in Zimbabwe's parliament is a positive development, but one that has been overshadowed by concerns over the legitimacy of recent elections.
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Moderates Nearly Extinct in the U.S. House
- Posted: August 7, 2013
- Author(s): Andrew Douglas
- Categories: Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Research & Analysis, Home, FairVote, Monopoly Politics 2012 Map
While many Americans describe themselves as ideological moderates, centrists have become increasingly rare in the House of Representatives, where their decline has contributed to congressional dysfunction and polarization. The pace of the decline of House moderates over the last forty years has been remarkable.
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Testimony on Importance of Strong Voting Rights Act
- Posted: July 18, 2013
- Author(s): Mollie Hailey
- Categories: Reforms, Research & Analysis, Home, Voting Rights
FairVote this week joined diverse organizations in affirming the continuing necessity of the fully implemented Voting Rights Act - the most critical piece of civil rights legislation.
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A Constitutional Right to Vote
- Posted: June 24, 2013
- Author(s): Mollie Hailey
- Categories: Research & Analysis, Voting Rights, All Reports
It is widely believed that “the right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected.” Many are surprised to learn, then, that the right to vote is not explicitly protected in the U.S. Constitution. Amending the Constitution to include an explicit right to vote would make it clear that this right is in fact fundamental. It would ensure that voter challenges to election rules would force governments to justify practices that curtail access to the ballot.
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Fixing Top Two in California
- Posted: June 18, 2013
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, Research & Analysis, Home, All Reports
In 2010, California adopted the "Top Two" primary system. In this Policy Perspective, we outline some of the issues with how Top Two operated in California in 2012. We then describe how the system would operate under a simple modification: a "Top Four" system in which four candidates advance to the general election instead of two, and in which the general election is conducted by ranked choice voting.
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FairVote's Fix for Top Two in California
- Posted: June 18, 2013
- Author(s): Drew Spencer
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, Research & Analysis, Home
FairVote has consistently been at the forefront of critical analysis of Top Two. Now, we are proud to announce a new Policy Perspective detailing a simple reform that could help to resolve nearly all of Top Two's maladies in a way that both accommodates the goals of Top Two supporters and the criticisms of its opponents.
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Monopoly Politics 2012
- Posted: October 12, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Congressional Elections, Research & Analysis, Redistricting
FairVote has issued its new Monopoly Politics 2012 report on U.S. House elections. The report demonstrates the growing partisan rigidity of voters in U.S. House elections with a detailed state-by-state, district-by-district review of this year's congressional races and the 2010 elections. It includes information on the presidential election results in every 2012 district, how each district's partisanship has changed since 2010 and the likely outcome of the Congressional elections next month.
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U.S. House Elections as They Are and Will Be
- Posted: July 23, 2012
- Categories: Congressional Elections, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Research & Analysis, Home, Redistricting
FairVote has released two new reports about congressional elections and an interactive map that summarizes their findings. Monopoly Politics 2012 provides the partisan landscape for all 435 U.S. House districts, with data on recent elections and how redistricting will affect partisan outcomes and racial fairness in 2012. Fair Voting 2012 shows how American forms of proportional representation could work in every state with more than one House district.
Our reports come with insightful analysis about partisan outcomes, competitiveness, southern politics and more.
- FairVotingUS.Com: FairVote's interactive map that presents reports
- Fair Voting 2012: State profiles and analysis about fair voting plans
- Monopoly Politics 2012: State profiles and analysis about 2012 House elections
- Dedication of reports to William Raspberry and Lindsey Needham
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Look to Election Rules to Reverse Decline of Political Center
- Posted: May 11, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, Reforms, Congressional Elections, Research & Analysis, Home, FairVote
U.S. Senators Dick Lugar (R-IN), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Kent Conrad (R-ND) share a history of bipartisan policymaking -- and the reality that they are leaving Congress. With its "the-rules-matter" perspective, FairVote explores the way in which our winner-take-all voting system disadvantages centrist candidates and discourages bipartisanship.
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Primaries Spotlight Sharp Decline in U.S. House Moderates
- Posted: May 8, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Sheahan Virgin
- Categories: Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Research & Analysis, Home, Cumulative Voting, Redistricting
On April 24, two moderate Blue Dog Democrats, Tim Holden and Jason Altmire, lost in Pennsylvania's primary election. They are the latest examples of an accelerating "no-more-moderates" trend within both major parties. But fair representation of the left, right and center is essential to the health of a democracy. Grounded in its unique the-rules-matter perspective, FairVote explores how winner-take-all voting rules today disadvantage candidates willing to seek bipartisan solutions to problems.