FairVote acts to transform our elections to achieve universal access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful ballot choices and majority rule with fair representation for all. As a catalyst for change, we build support for innovative strategies to win a constitutionally protected right to vote, universal voter registration, a national popular vote for president, instant runoff voting and proportional voting.
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Reform News
Oscar Blog Focuses on New Instant Runoff Voting System
Hollywood meets election reform as FairVote launches a new blog focused on the Academy Awards' new instant runoff voting system for Best Picture. "Oscar Votes 1-2-3" (http://oscarvotes123.com) is the nation's primary website to analyze the Oscars from the perspective of its newly-adopted preferential voting system for Best Picture. The site will also have information about the similar "choice voting" system of preferential voting used for decades for most Oscar nominations.
Latest E-Newsletter: February 24, 2010
Spotlight: Instant Runoff Voting
* A national referendum in the UK, the Oscar for Best Picture, three American cities enact it for November 2010 and moreElectoral Reform Highlights
* Stopping the ES&S monopoly, Richie in the Washington Post, Port Chester votesPort Chester will use Cumulative Voting
// March 9, 2010On June 15th the city of Port Chester, NY will become the first community in the state to elect its representative body through a semi-proportional system of elections known as “cumulative voting.” The reforms include a bi-lingual voter education campaign and “early voting,” a process allowing voters to cast ballots up to a week before Election Day.
These changes are the result of a court ruling which found that the old system limited the collective ability of Port Chester’s Hispanic community to elect a candidate, thus violating the federal Voting Rights Act. Other communities currently using cumulative voting include Amarillo, TX, Chilton County, AL, and Peoria, IL.
Port Chester Launches Education Effort on Cumulative Voting
Port Chester’s Election Website
New election system takes place in Port Chester
How Latinos can Build Political Power in Port Chester
Voting Rights Act Information -
Research Highlights
FairVote Facts
- Number of U.S. Senators appointed without election since the ratification of 17th Amendment: 182
- Number of U.S. House members ever to serve without election: 0
- Number of states that always fill U.S. Senate vacancies by election: 4
- Number of states that always fill U.S. House vacancies by election: 50
Featured Research
In this eighth edition, Dubious Democracy 2008 provides a comprehensive assessment of the level of competition and accuracy of representation in U.S. House elections in all 50 states from 1982 to 2008.
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Our Media
Featured Podcasts
Howard Dean on IRV--Howard Dean Discusses instant runoff voting on Radio Vermont's Mark Johnson Show.
John Anderson and the Redistricting Game--FairVote's former chairman helps unveil a new gerrymandering computer game, with an introduction from Rep. John Tanner.
The Slow Motion Stampede--FairVote's Rob Richie and Kentucky Secretary of State Tray Grayson talk about solutions to the broken presidential primary system on NPR's "All Things Considered."
Featured Video
A New Era of Electoral Reform - The 2010s and the 50-Year Cycle