FairVote Blog
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Louisiana's Cajun Primary: An Innovative Primary Undone by Electoral Stagnation
by Chris Hughes // November 20, 2015 //
Louisiana's innovative election system lacks true competition in practice, with most incumbents largely unopposed and unaccountable to voters. The Bayou State could promote the goals of majoritarian outcomes and real voter choice if it consolidated both elections with the use of ranked choice voting.
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Rich Tradition of Minority Party Representation Continues in Pennsylvania and Connecticut
by Chris Hughes // November 13, 2015 //
This year on Election Day in towns, cities, and counties across Pennsylvania and Connecticut minority parties earned representation thanks to fair representation voting methods. The use of "limited voting" in these places, which has been in place for decades, continues to ensure more political diversity than we see in most American cities today. -
New Jersey 2015 State Legislative Elections: The Predictive Power of Partisanship and One Party Rule
by Sarah John // November 13, 2015 //
New Jersey’s 2015 state election is striking for the predictive power of partisanship and the proportion of voters who are locked out of representation by a state legislator of their preferred political party. Under multi-winner RCV, most New Jerseyans would be able to cast a meaningful vote for a candidate of choice in the General Assembly and few voters would be trapped in a district without a representative from their preferred party.
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Virginia Legislative Elections Highlight Problems with Winner-Take-All Elections
by Haley Smith // November 9, 2015 //
Virginia's 2015 state legislative elections highlighted problems with winner-take-all elections in single-winner districts. More than two-thirds of seats were uncontested, 100% of incumbents won, and outcomes aligned nearly perfectly with the underlying partisan lean. Ranked choice voting in multi-winner districts would transform voter choice and fairness of representation. -
Seven Ways Ranked Choice Voting is Empowering Voters in 2015
by Drew Spencer // November 4, 2015 //
Election Day 2015 has come and gone, and voters in cities in six states again found that they were not limited to marking only one candidate, but had the ability to rank the candidates in order of choice. Here are seven ways RCV worked around the country this year. -
What could an independent run by Jim Webb mean for 2016?
by Austin Plier // October 23, 2015 //
Former Virginia U.S. Senator Jim Webb ended his bid for the Democratic nomintion for president, but left the door open for an independent run. Because our current voting system breaks down when more than two candidates run, Webb wouldn't need too much support--especially with his roots in swing-state Virginia--to have an impact on the 2016 presidential race.
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Anything but Fair: The Sad Tale of the Canadian Election System
by Sarah John // October 18, 2015 //
Canada likely will soon have another minority government . Pollsters project the Liberal Party will lead with between 110 and 150 seats, likely besting the incumbent Conservative Party government. No Canadian party has topped 40% of the vote since 2000, and plurality elections result in severe distortions in representation. The Liberals' platform includes a call for ranked choice voting. -
The Paradox of Fairness and Competition in Virginia Redistricting
by Drew Spencer // October 16, 2015 //
The most recent scuffle over congressional redistricting in Virginia illustrates how poor a job single-winner districts do at achieving meaningful elections with fair results. With single-winner districts, we get results that may or may not be fair, may or may not be competitive, and result in a paradox under which they cannot be both fair and competitive. -
Seventh Circuit on the Right to "An Effective Voice in the General Election."
by Rob Richie // September 11, 2015 //
The Court of Appeal for the Seventh Circuit recently struck down the use limited nominations in judicial elections in Indianapolis, Indiana. It held that the law substantially burdened "the right of voters to have an effective voice in the general election." -
Smart Ranked Choice Polling in the Presidential Race by PPP: New Poll Clarifies Nature of Donald Trump’s Support
by Rob Richie, Molly Rockett // September 1, 2015 //
After a fiery first Republican Presidential Debate on August 6th, the GOP primary field has continued to shift and change, leaving many pollsters struggling to catch up. To the surprise of many observers, Donald Trump has continued his surge – but new polling techniques helps clarify the nature of his support.