Contributions of Steven Hill
Steven Hill is the senior analyst for the Center for Voting and
Democracy ( www.fairvote.org), a non-profit
organization that educates the public about the impact of voting
systems and the legislative redistricting process on representation,
voter turnout, the quality of campaigns, legislative policy, and
campaign finance reform.
He is author of Fixing Elections: The Failure of
America's Winner Take All Politics.
To read
more information on Fixing Elections, see http://www.fixingelections.com/
Also, an excerpt of Fixing
Elections is available online. Steven Hill has also
authored a report on "Fixing Elections in
North Carolina."
Recent reviews of Fixing Elections have appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer,
the National Civic Review,
the Seattle
Times
and online at Working For Change.
Fixing Elections has been compared to
Harvard Professor Thomas Patterson's The Vanishing Voter,
which has been reviewed separately.
He also has contributed essays and articles to several
other books, including the lead essay (co-authored with his
colleague Rob Richie) in Reflecting All of
Us.
Recent News
and Media Coverage
2004
North Bay Bohemia (CA):
After the Election: Taking the next steps toward Democracy U.S.A."
Steven Hill discusses the prospects for electoral reform in a Kerry
administration.
Progressive
Populist: "Beyond the 2004 Elections: Democracy,
anyone?" Steven Hill offers a suggested agenda for the future.
August 2004
In
These Times: "Hindering America's Vote." An
analysis of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). August 24, 2004
The
Prague Post: "Democratic Breakdown." 'Winner
take all' system would be a step backward for Czech democracy. July 15,
2004
The Nation:
De-Spoiling the Election. CVD's Rob Richie and Steven Hill promote fairer
elections through the use of IRV. July 12, 2004.
Op-Ed
News.com: Commentary for direction election of the president with
IRV. Versions of it have appeared in such publications as the Progressive
Populist. June 22, 2004
San
Diego Union-Tribune: "Rigging elections: the hidden scandal
of redistricting." Hill and CVD Executive Director Rob Richie expose the
results of the US House redistricting system, which allows incumbents to pick
their voters before the voters pick them. May 23, 2004.
CommonDreams.org:
"Europe leaves the US behind." Hill points out the many European
social and political reforms from which the US could learn. April 29,
2004.
TomPaine.com:
"Winner takes all." Hill and CVD Executive Director Rob Richie
lament the dangerous precedent set in the Vieth v. Jubelirer redistricting
case, decided by the Supreme Court on April 28, 2004. May 5, 2004.
North
County Times (CA): "Top-two primary is a horrible
idea." Commentary by Steven Hill and Roy Ulrich exposes failures of the 'top-two' primary
system, which allows both final candidates to be drawn from the same party.
April 7, 2004
OpEdNews.com:
"Ensuring a Fair Presidential Election." Commentary by
CVD's Rob Richie and Steven Hill calls for efforts to ensure a fair presidential election. April 14, 2004.
Working
for Change: "In memoriam: Wilma Rule
(1925-2004). Champion of women's representation." Commentary from
CVD's Rob Richie and Steven Hill calls for changes to boost women's
representation. March 24, 2004.
Working
for Change: "Democrats should lead on electoral
reform. Red vs. Blue America leads to paucity
of viewpoints, benefits conservatives." March 15, 2004.
Baltimore
Sun: "Primary
solutions." CVD's Rob Richie and Steven Hill propose reforming
presidential primaries. March 2, 2004.
BuzzFlash.com:
"Pundits don't grasp how presidential system works."
Commentary from CVD's Rob Richie and Steven Hill critiques
conventional coverage of presidential elections. February 23, 2004.
Christian
Science Monitor:
"Reform primaries - include more voters." Commentary from
CVD's Rob Richie and Steven Hill calls for reforms to presidential
primaries. February 18, 2004.
Knight-Ridder
News Wire Service: "Time to fix the
presidential primary puzzle." CVD's Rob Richie and Steven Hill
discuss reforms for the presidential nominating process. February 6,
2004.
Progressive
Populist: "Understanding the
Democrats' presidential nomination process."
CVD's Steven Hill and Rob Richie explain that all Democratic
primaries and caucuses and many Republican primaries and
caucuses are based on the principle of full representation. February
15, 2004.
Baltimore
Sun: "How safe
is your vote? Doubts will persist until secure, accurate elections
become a national priority." Editorial by CVD's Steven Hill and
Rob Richie explores the problem of decentralized elections. January
7, 2004.
2003
Baltimore Sun:
"How safe is your vote? Doubts will
persist until secure, accurate elections become a national
priority." Editorial by CVD's Steven Hill and Rob Richie explores
the problem of decentralized elections. January 7,
2004. The Nation:
"The Redistricting Wars." CVD's Rob
Richie and Steven Hill are quoted prominently in an article about
new abuses in partisan gerrymandering. December 11,
2003.
Tompaine.com: "The
Gerrymander Moment." CVD's Rob Richie and Steven Hill explain the
importance of redistricting and the Vieth v. Jubelirer Supreme Court
case. December 8, 2003.
Progressive
Populist: "Democracy on
the Cheap." CVD leaders suggest that the key lesson from voting
equipment controversies is the need to have a strong national
commitment to fair and secure elections. December 2003.
Alternet:
"The Challenges to Creating a New Democratic Majority."
September 25, 2003
Working
Change:
"Bureaucrats stall IRV in San Francisco: Elected and
unelected officials nationwide block reform legislation." September
2, 2003
Progressive Populist: Why
Progressives Lose: Affirmative Action for Conservatives." June 2003
Houston
Chronicle:
"Re-redistricting is an ugly power
grab." Commentary by Steven Hill and Rob Richie which
spotlights the next step in the breakdown in traditional
redistricting of legislative district lines. June 29, 2003
The State of Democracy in California: Steven Hill Makes Case for Full
Representation in California Testimony: Steven Hill provided
this testimony to Califronia's commission on implementing the Help
America Vote Act. May 8
"Democracy lessons from Scotland and
Wales." Steven Hill and Rob Richie explain the
significance of recent elections and electoral reforms in
Scotland and Wales.
San Francisco Bay Guardian:
Commentary by Chris
Ulbrich praises Hill's Fixing Elections.
April 30, 2003.
Common
Dreams:
"Save our democracy, a call to action."
Commentary by Steven Hill and Rob Richie discussing the need for
electoral reform. April 5, 2003.
Tallahassee
Democrat:
"Why Congress and the American People
Disagree." Commentary by Steven Hill and Rob Richie that appeared
in several newspapers March 16,
2003.
Progressive Populist:
"Instant Runoff Voting: Win-Win Reform Gathers Steam." Commentary
by Steven Hill and Rob Richie tracing the recent attention IRV
has received in state and local legislatures as an appropriate and
much-needed election reform. March 29, 2003.
Progressive
Populist:
"How to Enact Progressive Policy." Commentary
by Steven Hill and Rob Richie touting
election
reform as a means to enact progressive social legislation. March 1,
2003.
Progressive
Populist:
"Forging a Vibrant Democracy." Commentary by
Rob Richie and Steven Hill explaining how electoral reform might
reassert the democratic traditions passed down from
our nation's founders. February 15,
2003.
See/Hear CVD's Steven Hill on Cambridge Forum
and Read Collection of Writings: Steven Hill was a lecturer at the Cambridge
Forum on Feb. 5, 2003. Hill's lecture
can be heard/viewed and articles
on this trip to Boston have been collected in a special
website.
The American
Prospect:
"Who's Right Now" Commentary by Steven Hill, suggesting why
politics is more progressive in Europe than in America.
February 2, 2003.
2002
Santa Fe New Mexican:
"The Ups
and Downs of European Politics." Commentary by Steven Hill,
suggesting that America would benefit from a careful reexamination
of democratic institutions in Europe.
December 27, 2002.
The Bay Guardian:
(CA) "Bye, December
runoffs." Commentary by CVD's Steven Hill, followed by Bay
Guardian editorial urging City to move forward in implementing IRV
in 2003. December 25, 2002.
New York Times:
(NY) "America Votes Today. Will You?" Letter to
the editor by Steven Hill, suggesting that expected voter behavior
in the 2002 elections can be linked to "winner-take-all" elections.
November 5, 2002.
LA Times:
(CA) "Demography vs. Democracy, Young People
Feel Left Out of the Political Process." Commentary by
Steven Hill and Rashad Robinson, attributing the politics of "demography"
to low voter turnout among the youth and racial
minorities. November 5, 2002. 11/05/02
Yale Magazine:
Review of "Fixing Elections: The Failure of
America's Winner Take All Politics." Yale alumnus David Baker's
favorable review of CVD Senior Analyst Steven Hill's new book.
November 2002
Houston Chronicle:
(TX) "Get your election results here:
99.8% accurate." CVD's Steven Hill and Rob Richie on the
predictability of this year's elections. November 3, 2002
TomPaine.com:
"Election Reform Finally Limps Into Port." Steven Hill's analysis of
the federal election reform bill. October 31, 2002
Charlotte Observer:
(NC) "Election results
easy to predict." CVD's Steven Hill and Rob Richie explain
how redistricting and winner-take-all
elections limit voters and democracy. Versions of this column
appeared in several newspapers. October 25, 2002
Cleveland Plain
Dealer:
(OH) "Voters are electing to stay
home." Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist touts Steven Hill's
"Fixing Elections." October 6, 2002
CommonDreams.org: "Redistricting
Makes Losers Out of All of Us." Commentary by Steven Hill and Rob
Richie, recommending electoral alternatives to redistricting, in order
to motivate voters. July 8, 2002.
Knight-Ridder Wire: "Curing France's Electoral Problems, and Ours." A
series of commentaries by Rob Richie and Steven Hill providing
suggestions for possible French electoral reform. May
2002
Chrstian Science
Monitor:
CVD's Rob
Richie and Steven Hill describe the abuses of power that the
redistricting process evokes-"Redistricting abuses voter trust." January 7,
2002
2001
Knight-Ridder Wire:
"New computer technology makes redistricting
more controversial than ever." Rob Richie and Steven Hill reveal the
complications technology brings to the redistricting process. April
6, 2001
Christian Science
Monitor:
Rob Richie and Steven Hill discuss the
consequences of the election problems in FL-"Political Reform: Alive
and Ready to Kick." April 6, 2001
The American
Prospect:
"Should Democracies favor
Majority-Minority Districts in the 2001 redistricting?" Steven
Hill and Rob Richie discuss majority minority districts. March
7, 2001
Baltimore Sun:
(MD) Rob Richie and Steven Hill
suggest instant runoff voting as a way to ensure majority
candidates-"Change Elections to Instant Runoff Voting." Jan. 2,
2001 Knight-Ridder Wire:"Winner Take All May Not Be a Winner for
Italy." Commentary by Steven Hill questions Italy's motivations for adopting "winner take all" elections. May 21, 2001
Here's a sampling of Steven Hill's articles
from 2000:
Social Policy:
Winter 2000
The Hartford Courant:
(CT) "The case against the electoral
college." Nov 9, 2000
The Nation
: "If Politics Got Real." October 2000
Roll Call:
"Blanket Primary Has
Other Solutions." July 24, 2000
Daily Special:
"Reflecting All of Us." Februrary 10, 2000
Here's a sampling of other articles
from the 1990s:
"Jesse Helms vs. Carol Mosley-Braun: The case for
modernizing an outdated institution"
"Reigning in Attack Politics."
"Without McCain, will independents
turnout?"
San Francisco Conference Sept 12-18
1998
"Get your election results right
here!"
"The real tragedy of Sen.
Feinstein's withdrawal from the governor's
race"
"A cheaper, better way than
runoffs"
"PR puts up a good fight in San
Francisco"
"Some lessons on the mechanics of
democracy"
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