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FairVote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization devoted to electoral reforms that respect every vote and ever voice. Signature proposals we have developed or advanced include proportional voting, instant runoff voting, ranked choice voting, the National Popular Vote plan for president, universal voter registration and a constitutional right to vote. Its executive director is Rob Richie and its board chair is Krist Novoselic.
Thursday, January 12, 2012 Democracy Lost: the Iowa Caucus, the New Hampshire Primary, and the Shortchanging of American Presidential Politics (2 comments)
Although balloting in the 2012 Republican nomination battle has just begun, the race already appears to be over after just two contests: Iowa and New Hampshire. Such a result, in which the vast majority of the nation's voters are reduced to irrelevancy by an abbreviated primary process, is the newest chapter in a disturbing narrative of democratic ideals lost.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 Was the Iowa Caucuses' Real Winner Not in the Race?
Last night, as the numbers rolled in from Iowa, cable news shows pundits analyzed the numbers in almost every way humanly possible -- with particular obsession with who was going to "win." But the media just may have missed the biggest winner: a candidate who wasn't seeking Iowa votes last night.
Friday, December 23, 2011 Let's End Gerrymandering with Fair Voting for Congress (7 comments)
Most voters' representation in winner-take-all elections will be decided by how redistricting maps are drawn in 2011-2012, rather than by how they vote in 2012-2020. Although seen as the norm in the United States, winner-take-all elections invite computer-facilitated partisan gerrymandering.It is time to take on the winner-take-all rule itself by conducting elections in multi-seat "super-districts."
Friday, August 15, 2008 Clearing the Barr to a majority president with instant runoff voting (16 comments)
Plurality voting works fine when elections have only two choices. But it goes haywire when more candidates run - witness the hand-wringing over Ross Perot in 1992 and Ralph Nader in 2000.
We can expect more hand-wringing this year. In a recent Rasmussen Research poll, fully 10% of likely voters said they would vote for Bob Barr or Ralph Nader if matched against Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 A Pro-Democracy Agenda for a New Congress
With Democrats now in control of Congress for the first time in a dozen
years, one way for Democrats to build faith with all Americans would be to
pursue policies designed to increase fairness within Congress, as well as
improve democracy in the United States.
Friday, November 18, 2005 Redistricting Reform: How Best to Tackle Ultra-Safe Districts (1 comments)
In the wake of the twin failures of redistricting initiatives in Ohio and California, reformers must turn to the underlying problem of winner-take-all in our elections if they want to establish fairness and competition in redistricting.
