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What Was New 1998-2000What was new in
2000 YEAR END REPORT from CVD President John B. Anderson and Executive Director Rob Richie - December 20, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: One of Florida's leading newspapers and several of its readers continue to advocate instant runoff voting. - December 20, 2000 POST-ELECTION UPDATE from the Center for Voting and Democracy - Thanksgiving Day 2000 PROJECTIONS FOR 2004 PRESIDENTIAL RACE show widening divisions. CITIZENS' GUIDE TO VOTING EQUIPMENT in light of Florida vote counting snafus - November 22, 2000 The WALL STREET JOURNAL and the MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE cover instant runoff voting. Links torapidly expanding MEDIA COVERAGE , including a description ofa day in the CVD office . - November 16, 2000 INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING FOR PRESIDENT : There is increasing talk of eliminating the "spoiler" charge and minority rule once and for all by adopting instant runoff voting for electing the president. Most advocate IRV in a direct election, but as argued by some proponents of maintaining the Electoral College, it also could be used on a state-by-state basis with mere statutory change. See new commentaries from Hendrik Hertzberg in The New Yorker magazine andfrom John Anderson and Steve Hill, an editorial in the Trenton Times and more. - November 15, 2000 Bi-partisan CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION introduced to establish well-funded commission to study how to modernize our antiquated voting practices -- from old ballot machines to proportional representation and instant runoff voting (Nov 15). - November 15, 2000 LESSONS FROM FLORIDA : William Raspberry writes powerfully about the need to question the winner-take-all principle, citing the work of CVD. A Seattle Times political writer touts proportional representation, CVD Board member George Pillsbury writes about instant runoff voting in the Boston Globe andBehind the Ballot Box author Douglas Amy calls for reform. - November 10. In a commentary inIn These Times, Rob Richie and Steve Hill discuss theREAL SPOILER in the Nader campaign. - November 10, 2000 VOTERS PASS IRV CHARTER AMENDMENTS in Oakland and San Leandro, California. - November 8, 2000 LACK OF COMPETITION in congressional races draws attention to gerrymandering and one-sided districts: Earlier this year, the Center made a list of 237 congressional seats predicted to be won by landslide margins of at least 20%. Only one of 237 was won by less than a landslide -- and that by 18%. Strong articles and commentaries discuss the roots of this problem in USA Today, Reuters and Slate, with CVD featured. - November 8 ELECTION 2000: It appears that the winning presidential candidate lost the popular vote. It's time to abolish the anachronistic Electoral College if we institute a direct, majority election of the president. CVD commentaries have appeared in the Baltimore Sun, St. Petersburg Times, New York Daily News, Denver Post andmany others. - November 8, 2000 Voters pass IRV CHARTER
AMENDMENTS
in two cities - November 6, 2000 Summary of poll CLOSING TIMES for all 50 states with races to watch and benchmarks to look for. Also, see the revised map of electoral landscape. - November 6, 2000 Recent media coverage of proportional representation and instant runoff voting and the Electoral College fromNew York Times andWashington Post, USA Today and many others. - November 2, 2000 IRV to qualify for statewide ballot in Alaska : 35,000 signatures were turned into the Alaska Division of Elections by supporters of an initiative to enact instant runoff voting for all federal elections in Alaska and nearly all state elections. Read the Associated Press wire report . - November 2, 2000 Don't forget about the state legislatures : The Center summarizes some of the key battlegrounds for control of state legislatures -- and, in some cases, control of redistricting and state election results for the next decade. New commentary on the battle to control redistricting .- November 2, 2000 The presidential race's electoral landscape : Using the techniques it has applied so successfully to U.S. House races, the Center analyzes the presidential race -- and finds a tilt toward Democrats if the national vote is dead even.- October 30, 2000 More than one in seven U.S. House incumbents get free ride : Few congressional races are competitive this year, primarily due to the fact that most incumbents have settled into legislative districts that are safe for them and their party. In fact, 65 congressional races are not contested by both major parties in 2000 � see an updated list of these fortunate candidates. - October 30, 2000 The Center releases an extensive analysis of the frequency of candidates winning state and federal elections with less than 50% of the vote . - October 30, 2000 "Why Don't We Vote? " Nearly 9,000 young people from all 50 states submitted essays for our essay contest. We've posted the winning essays along with submissions from every state and a summary of the recommendations that contestants made for boosting youth turnout. - October 16, 2000 Death of Theodore Berry , Cincinnati's first black mayor and champion of proportional representation: Theodore Berry died on October 15 at the age of 94. Mr. Berry was a winner of one of our "Champion of Democracy" awards in 1994. As discussed in aNew York Times obituary, he was a strong and effective advocate of proportional representation for five decades. - October 16, 2000 Information about the breakdown of majority rule and the "spoiler" problem in the 2000 presidential election - October 2000 New commentaries and articles on turnout and lack of competition Lee Mortimer, a founding member of the Center for Voting and Democracy, recently wrote a commentarythat has appeared in the Raleigh News and Observer, Charlotte News and Observer, Houston Chronicle and other publications. This link also has a Gannett News Wire article on safe congressional races, featuring comments and data from the Center for Voting and Democracy, and a commentary by CVD's John Gear published in the Lansing State Journal. - October 2000 New IRV commentaries - October 2000
Voting Rights Update: September 15, 2000 - September 2000
The Center for Voting and Democracy releases three reports on the past, present and future of U.S. House elections - August 2000 (These reports can also be viewed using CVD's map . They require Netscape or Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher for frames and JavaScript.) PAST: "Dubious Democracy 2000" An exhaustive collection of data from each state's congressional elections on competitiveness, voter turnout, partisan shares of the vote and seats, representation of women and minorities and other measures of electoral health from 1982 - 1998 presented in an attractive, easy-to-read format. PRESENT: "Monopoly Politics 2000" A state-by-state, district-by-district list of predictions and projected vote shares, along with information on election results in each congressional district from 1992 to 1998 . FUTURE: "Mapping our Future: A Public Interest Guide to Redistricting" A state-by-state guide to what governs redistricting in each state, with information on the statutes governing redistricting, litigation in the past decade, any reform efforts and legislation on redistricting and an analysis of the political landscape in each state. Impact of U.S. Runoff Elections on Racial Minorities and Women : An Analysis and Comparison with Instant Runoff Voting. A commentary by Rob Richie and Caleb Kleppner. - August 2000 A Democrat Votes for Instant Runoff Voting : Ken Bresler, a former Democratic state legislative candidate in Massachusetts and a member of the Center for Voting and Democracy, writes about why he is voting for Al Gore -- and wishes we had instant runoff voting. - August 2000 E-News Update : News items on CVD commentary in Washington Post, Sierra Club endorsement of PR, ICANN's decision to use IRV for worldwide elections, new CVD factsheets, CVD report on blanket primaries and more. - August 2000 ICANN to use IRV for worldwide election of five board members by internet users: At a July board meeting, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted to use instant runoff voting to elect five members of its board of directors, with each board member from a different continent. ICANN is the non-profit global corporation that was formed to govern the Internet. Any user of the Internet can join ICANN and vote in these elections.- July 2000 Slide show on thirty years of gerrymandering in Ohio : David Horn, director of the Center for Research into Government Processes in Ohio, has prepared a remarkable slide show that provides compelling stories of how redistricting works -- and doesn't work -- in Ohio. See highlights of the series and consider downloading the whole slide show. - July 2000 CVD Vice-President Matthew Cossolotto touts instant runoff voting in Washington Post op-ed: On July 30, the Washington Post published a commentary called " The Spoiler Factor " by Matthew Cossolotto. The op-ed makes a strong case for states adopting runoff voting for presidential elections.- July 2000 Sierra Club endorses alternatives to winner-take-all elections : The Sierra Club, the nation's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization, with over 600,000 members, on July 22 voted "to support alternative electoral methods that better reflect the diversity of public opinion.- July 2000 NAACP conference follow-up : See who won in the mock election and download a description of all the groups in the Voter Action Center.- July 2000 The A, B, C's of voting systems: The Center for Voting and Democracy has launched a major project in which it will have short fact sheets on different voting methods and specific questions and historical information relating to voting methods. See the initial facts sheets on the web.- July 2000 "Louisiana's nonpartisan primary: Model or travesty of reform? " A new CVD analysis of one proposed alternative to "blanket primaries," which the Supreme Court recently ruled could not be required -- as had been the case in Alaska, California and Washington. The report examines the impact of Louisiana's nonpartisan primary, discusses its applicability to other states and presents alternative solutions. In addition, see a new commentary on blanket primaries by Steven Hill in Roll Call .- July 2000 Former top Bush advisor Pinkerton writes about proportional representation : James Pinkerton, a Newsday columnist who was a domestic policy advisor to President George Bush, visited the Green Party convention in June. His column "System Stacked against Nader, Buchanan" intelligently discusses the key role that proportional representation plays in allowing a multi-party democracy. - July 2000 E-News Update, July 13, 2000 : - LWV votes for national study, Cumulative voting in Amarillo, Anderson NY Times op-ed, PR and IRV showcased in the London Mayor's race, redistricting roulette, CVD commentary, notable articles, essay contest, new educational materialsand more.- July 2000 The National Civic Review has published a major article on instant runoff voting by Terrill Bouricius, Caleb Kleppner and Rob Richie entitled " Instant Runoffs: A Cheaper, Fairer, Better Way to Conduct Elections. "- July 2000 Try your hand at the CVD's " Redistricting Roulette " wheel; explore the impact of different ways of dividing Geometry Town into single-member districts and the dramatically different results. - July 2000 June/July commentary from CVD staff and members: Rob Richie and Steven Hill had the following letters and commentaries in the Washington Post , New York Times and Christian Science Monitor .- July 2000 A variety of brochures and other CVD materials are now available for download.- July 2000 New York Times commentary and Washington Post letter tout instant runoff to eliminate "spoiler" dilemma: CVD president John B. Anderson's 7/5/2000 commentary in the New York Times and John Strawn's 7/6/2000 letter in the Washington Post suggest that the plurality voting system is the real spoiler in this year's election. - July 2000 League of Women Voters to undertake national study onelection systems: At its biennial convention in Washington DC on June 16-20, 2000, the League of Women Voters of the United States voted to undertake a two-year study of election systems., the League had not conducted a national study of any kind in nearly a decade. More than 900 local Leagues will take part. - June 2000 Los Angeles Times article highlights cumulative voting and CVD: Steve Padilla analyzes "Voters Electing new Ways to Cast Ballots" in a June 25, 2000 article. - June 2000 Two articles from New York Times columnist Gail Collins on non-competitive elections: Uncontested Contests, Happy Election Day, America! New York Times, 11/02/99 and Other People's Elections, New York Times, 06/16/00. - June 2000 Democratic and Republican presidential primary/caucus results. See the final allocation of delegates, state-by-state, and the difference between results in the states using proportional representation and those using winner-take-all for allocatingtheir delegates.Also, see a chronology of major events in the presidential race, 1998 - 2000.- June 2000 Amarillo, Texas: Cumulative voting was used to elect Amarillo's school board for the first time on May 6, 2000. The impact on voter turnout and representation of racial and ethnic minorities was dramatic.- May 2000 "Electoral reforms needed, Maryland 2000". When districts are drawn to insulate legislators from competition, voters are robbed of having a choice. by Eric Olson- May 2000 May 24 commentaries from CVD: The politics of guns and the November elections, by Rob Richie and Steven Hill, and the advantages of instant runoff voting, by Caleb Kleppner.- May 2000 PR and the instant runoff in May 4 elections in London: Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker touts the new electoral systems used in London's city council and mayoral elections; Caleb Kleppner analyzes the use of instant runoff voting in the mayoral race and the media coverage; Rob Richie explains how the use of proportional representation prevented one party from gaining a majority on the city council with only 28% of the vote.- May 2000 Two published letters and a radio commentary from CVD Rob Richie, April 2000: Commentary on Elian Gonzalez and the Electoral College on Pacifica radio and letters in New York Times and Washington Post.- April 2000 Three Commentaries from CVD Vice-President and Co-Founder Matthew Cossolotto: He has published several excellent commentaries on proportional representation since he served as the organization's founding president and chair in 1992. Recently Cossolotto wrote three new commentaries on voter turnout, proportional representation and redistricting.- April 2000 PR and Italy -- Not what you might think: Critics of proportional representation often tout Italy as a reason to oppose reform. In fact, Italy is hardly indicative of how proportional representation systems work -- and winner-take-all elections likely would be even more problematic. See Steven Hill's recent published op-ed.- April 2000 How proportional representation elects more women highlighted at major women's conference: See speech by CVD Vice President Cynthia Terrell and related documents.- April 2000 CVD's Majority Rule Project Director Caleb Kleppner publishes commentaries in favor of instant runoff in three state capitals: Raleigh, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; and Sacramento, California.- March 2000 Common Cause recommends PR for ICANN, excerpts from a major study of elections to control the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN: the Secret Government of the Internet?: commentary by Steve Hill.- March 2000 "Proportional representation: Next step for democracy" Rep. Cynthia McKinney; Roll Call, February 14, 2000.- February 2000 Book Beat at WomenConnect interviewed Rob Richie and Steve Hill about their recent book "Reflecting Us All".- February 2000 E-news update: Sacramento Bee plugs PR / other commentary, RNC chair suggests proportional representation; Pro- PR candidates; Illinois events; more.- February 2000 Reining In Attack Politics, John McCain: Going Independent?, and Look Who's Acting Likethe Microsoft of Politics, three new Richie/Hill op-eds.- February 2000 Youth turnout: Charts on changes since 1972.- February 2000 Updated pages on Voting Rights and Instant Runoff.- February 2000 "Districting method may explain flag" and more Martin Dyckman op-eds.- February 2000 Dubious Democracy 2000: A unique and extensive state-by-state survey of competition (and lack thereof) and voter turnout in U.S. House races from 1982 to 1998. See how your state ranks in our "democracy index!" 2/2/2000.- February 2000 John B. Anderson's articles on reform have long been a feature of this web site. Mr. Anderson became national advisory board chair in 1992 and has been president of the Center for Voting and Democracy since 1996. His most recent speech on political reform was written for delivery at The National Press Club on 1/26/200.- January 2000 Three new commentaries by CVD
cover proportional representation and
electoral competition, representation of women, and voter
turnout.- January
2000 The year-end report from CVD
President John B. Anderson, recent devel
opments in electoral reform, and Executive Director Rob Richie's
summary of "Voting System Reform On the Move"- December
1999 Give For Change You now can make your tax-deductible CVD gift on-line! - December 1999 Sneak preview of the Center's next major report: "Monopoly Politics" (in which we predict winners and victory margins in House races) - December 1999 "A third choice" leads us past the dilemma of color-blind versus race-conscious remedies to America's racial inequities. Washington Post commentary by William Raspberry. - December 1999 No Contest Elections in Virginia: Post-election analysis and district-by-district results of elections to the Virginia House of Delegates in the 1990's. - November 1999 Election-week commentaries about no-contest elections: New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post: A Lock On Elections In Virginia. - November 1999 Voting and Democracy Review Read the Center's newsletter online: lead article on Instant Runoff Voting, plus Congress Debates PR!- October 1999 Resolving Buchanan's dilemma By Rob Richie and Caleb Kleppner -October 1999 Testimony is now on line from the September 23rd hearing on the States' Choice of Voting Systems Act (HR 1173) - September 1999 A new CV&D factsheet: addresses Common concerns about multi-seat districts for U.S. House Elections. Other new factsheets define Redistricting, Gerrymandering, and the Legality of gerrymandering. - September 1999 Surprising finding: Bigger districts don't necessarily increase Campaign Costs. - September 1999 Super districts Examples of semi-proportional voting districts for Congress: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina, Texas, Virginia. - September 1999 Politicians often gerrymander
election districts to create "safe seats" for themselves and their
friends. Here are some particularly Suspect districts. - September 1999 Learn about U.S. Representative Mel Watt's (D-NC) legislation in Congress, the States' Choice of Voting Systems Act, which would allow states to adopt multi-member districts, something which was possible before 1967. See why Vermont and other states may adopt instant runoff voting for statewide and federal offices. It's As Easy as 1-2-3. Read our Amicus Curiae brief on the Chicago Heights (Illinois) voting rights case. See why a federal judge ordered cumulative voting as the solution to a voting rights dilemma. Read the Latest PR advertisement from John Cleese, the British comedian perhaps best-known for his roles in "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "A Fish Called Wanda." - September 1998 Krist Novoselic, former bass player for the band Nirvana and current president of The Joint Artists & Music Promotions Action Committee (JAMPAC) Advocates PR! Check out how we did in our predictions for the 1998 Congressional Elections ... well over a year before they happened, and view our report, Politics, where we made our predictions. The Jenkins Commission Recommendations were released in October 1998 by the UK's Independent Commission on the Voting System. (Note: This report is 234kb. The estimated download time at 28.8kb is 3 minutes.) Check the Job Listings and Internships pages at The Center for Voting and Democracy. - August 1999
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