Steven Hill's Speaking Engagements in Massachusetts

Hampshire Gazette

Is it time for runoff voting?
By Mary Carey
Feb. 1, 2003

Steven Hill, author of "Fixing Elections: The Failure of America's Winner Take All Politics," will be in Amherst and Northampton Tuesday to talk about instant runoff voting, the electoral reform that voters in the 1st and 3rd Hampshire representative districts approved in a nonbinding ballot question in November. Hill, a nationally syndicated columnist from San Francisco, will speak at the Jones Library in Amherst at noon; at Room 162-175 of the University of Massachusetts Campus Center at 4 p.m; and at Broadside Books in Northampton at 7:30 p.m.

In "Fixing Elections," Hill observes that the United States is the democracy with the lowest rate of voter participation. He used Massachusetts as an example of the broader problem.

Hill argues that a root cause of growing voter disenchantment and "political depression," is the "winner take all" voting system, an 18th-century model awarding a political contest to the candidate who gets the most votes - even if that represents less than a majority in multiple-candidate races.

Hill, the co-founder in 1992 of the Center for Voting and Democracy, a nonprofit organization promoting electoral reform, maintains that instant runoff voting would do more to restore voter confidence than even campaign finance reform, which has been thwarted nationally and in Massachusetts.

"Our politics is increasingly becoming one of negative consent," Hill said in a telephone interview this week. "People don't vote for a candidate anymore. They vote against the other side. We're in this vicious cycle right now, and the only way to break out of it is by changing the voting system. Campaign finance reform would certainly help, but by itself, it is not adequate."

The instant runoff voting system allows voters to rank multiple candidates in an election according to their preference. If after a first counting, no one candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, the candidate receiving the fewest votes is eliminated. The votes are then retallied - almost instantaneously, using computer technology - with the votes of those who supported the candidate who was eliminated shifting to their second choice and on down, until one candidate emerges with a majority.

Supporters say Democrat Al Gore likely would be president if instant runoff voting had been in place in 2000, because supporters of Ralph Nader could have chosen a second-candidate preference for Gore or George Bush.

The system has been used in Australian nation elections since 1919, and in Ireland and England, as well as in the nominating process for the Academy Awards.

Hill said instant runoff voting particularly makes sense for Massachusetts now, because it eliminates the need for both a primary and a general election by combining all of the candidates on a single ballot, thereby saving money. He said San Francisco, which uses instant runoff voting for its city elections, is expected to save $4 million a year.

"If one city of 800,000 people saves $4 million, in the state of Massachusetts the savings would probably be in the tens of millions," Hill said. "With a huge budget deficit, I think that would be fairly attractive."

Allston-Brighton Tab

Forum on electoral reform is Feb. 3
January 31, 2003

A coalition of voting rights groups will be holding a forum entitled "21st Century Politics, 18th Century Elections: Why Our Electoral Process is Not Suited for Modern-Day America." The event is slated for 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3, at the Raytheon Amphitheater, in the Egan Center at Northeastern University.

The forum will focus on the problems inherent in our voting system, and review potential solutions to those problems, including instant runoff voting. Moderated by attorney and voting rights activist John Bonifaz, the forum panelists include author Steven Hill, Kennedy School professor Alexander Keyssar, and 2002 gubernatorial candidate Dr. Jill Stein.

The event is being sponsored by the MassIRV, Northeastern University, Common Cause, and the Center for Voting and Democracy.

For further information, see www.MassIRV.org .

Also, see: www.cambridgeforum.org for information on February 5th event.

Cambridge Chronicle

January 29, 2003

Political analyst Steven Hill discusses his new book, "Fixing Elections: The Failure of America's Winner-Take-All Politics," at Cambridge Forum on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at First Parish, 3 Church St., Harvard Square. A book-signing will follow the program.

A study completed in 2000 found that the last four decades of the 20th century have seen the lowest levels of voter turnout in the nation's history. Among the explanations for this were the public's distaste for modern campaign techniques, the front-loaded system of nominating candidates, and the Electoral College that renders non-swing states irrelevant in deciding elections.

Hill believes that the root of our political failures is our winner-take-all electoral system. In his new book, he shows why the Electoral College is an antiquated system in desperate need of overhaul, and proposes reasonable, proven solutions for change based on European political models.

He is senior analyst for the Center for Voting and Democracy in Washington, D.C. His analyses and commentaries have been published in dozens of magazines and journals, including the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Nation. Previously, he co-authored "Reflecting All of Us."

Cambridge Forums are free and open to the public. Open discussion follows speaker presentation. Events are taped and edited for public radio broadcast throughout the nation. Edited cassettes are available by calling 617-495-2727. Select forums can be viewed in their entirety on demand by visiting www.cambridgeforum.org and clicking on the WGBH Forum Network.