Letter from John
Anderson and Rob
Richie
June
2002
Dear Friend of Fair
Elections,
These are exciting times for voting system reformers.
To take us to the next level of achievementsuccess, we need your
continued support.
The Center's 10th year has perhaps been our most
successful. This year promises to be even better. Our efforts
contributed to several important recent successes:
-
Major media coverage of voting system reform
continued, with articles on IRV in the wake of our March wins in
Time Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post and many more top
publications.
Our staff has grown to nine people who
comprise our most effective team ever. We also have seven
enthusiastic interns in our national office working to produce new
reports on lack of choice in congressional elections, the
undemocratic nature of redistricting, problems with runoff elections
and distortions in fair representation and to reach out to students,
election officials and legislators in targeted jurisdictions.
But with increased activity comes a need for
increased funds. That�s why we�re turning to our members, the people
who recognize the importance of voting system reform to fulfill the
promise of democracy. As described in our special edition of Voting and Democracy Review, it�s our
10-year anniversary, and we�re asking supporters to help us
celebrate by making a major gift at this time.
We are extremely grateful for your support and
hope that you will invest in what we believe is the �next big
reform� with a gift of $100 or more. You can give on-line or by mail. In addition to
making a contribution, we hope that you will help us develop our
program plan for 2003-2004 by suggesting ideas for how we can best
advance our mission � to make every vote count and ensure that all
voters are represented.
Here are a few highlights
among upcoming projects:
-
A Major Test for IRV in Alaska: In August,
Alaskans will vote on adoption of instant runoff voting for nearly
all state and federal offices, including presidential elections in
2004. Political leaders from across the spectrum support the
measure, but our assistance to state reformers is nevertheless
critically important for what promises to be a very close
campaign.
-
Expansion of PR and IRV on Campus: In the past
year, schools such as the University of Illinois and University of
Maryland have adopted proportional representation or instant
runoff voting for student elections. We seek a major expansion of
fair methods for a broad range of private elections. Please
contact us if your organization or school is a potential
candidate.
-
Making Fair Election Systems Work: We want instant
runoff voting and proportional systems to live up to their full
potential in San Francisco, Amarillo and around the country. We
also will continue to ensure that new voting machines can support
fair election methods. Please alert us if your county or state is
moving to adopt new voting equipment.
-
Promotion of Reform in Major Media: We receive
excellent media attention, but are issuing more frequent and
better-targeted news releases. In the short-term, expect to see
more media coverage of how better voting systems relate to
redistricting, voter turnout and fair representation. Please alert
us to columnists and radio hosts who should hear from us.
-
Exposing the Impact of Redistricting and
Winner-Take-All Elections on Voter Choice: We are confronting the
problem of incumbent protection in redistricting. We will develop
strategies in coordination with leading reform groups and soon
will release a new set of U.S. House predictions in our
influential Monopoly Politics report, then generate revealing
statistics and new predictions for 2004 immediately after the
November elections.
Thanks so much for your support. We need it
now more than ever!
Sincerely yours,
Rob Richie, Executive Director
John B. Anderson, Chair
P.S. In appreciation of gifts of $100 or
more, we will send you a complimentary copy of Steven Hill�s
highly praised book Fixing Elections: The
Failure of America�s Winner Take All Politics. Steven
articulates our analysis of the increasingly glaring shortcomings
of our antiquated election methods.
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