Robert Richie - Executive Director
An expert on international and domestic elections and electoral reform,
Rob Richie has directed FairVote since its founding in 1992. Among his
activities at FairVote, Richie has:* been a guest on many radio and television programs, including C-SPAN, NBC News, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NPR's "Talk of the Nation", "All things Considered" and "Fresh Air" and been a frequent source for print, radio and television journalists;
* published commentary in such publications as New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, Nation, National Civic Review, Boston Review, Christian Science Monitor and Legal Times;
* co-authored two books, Every Vote Equal (2006) and Whose Votes Count (2001) and had his writings appear in seven other books;
* Spoken to scores of organizations, including at the annual conventions of the American Political Science Association, National Association of Counties, National Association of Secretaries of state, Unitarian Universalists and National Conference of State Legislatures and to the Voting Section of the U. S. Department of Justice, the Lincoln Day dinners of the Alaska Republican Party in Juneau and Anchorage and several groups of foreign dignitaries through the United States Information Agency;
* Worked with congressional and state legislative staff in writing numerous pieces of legislation;
* Testified in special sessions before charter commissions in cities in New York, Florida, Ohio, Texas and Michigan and before state legislative committees in Alaska, Vermont, Virginia and Washington;
* Helped organize eight well-attended national conferences on electoral system reform and worked with hundreds of state reformers supporting fair election methods;
* Toured New Zealand at the invitation of electoral reformers during a successful referendum campaign in that country in 1993 to adopt a proportional voting system; and
* edited FairVote's publications, such as its bi-annual analyses of congressional elections that have received prominent news coverage around the nation.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1962, Richie graduated from Haverford College with a B.A. in philosophy in 1987. Before co-founding FairVote and becoming its director in 1992, he worked for three winning congressional campaigns in Washington state and for non-profit organizations in Washington and the District of Columbia. He is married to Cynthia Terrell and is the father of three children: Savanna, Lucas and Rebecca.
You can reach Rob Richie at: rr (AT) fairvote (DOT) org
See and Hear Rob Richie on the Air
Articles by Rob Richie
November 3rd 1997Senate Hearing on Campaign Problems
FairVote's Rob Richie and Steven Hill report their findings that show money does not necessarily predict the outcome of elections, rather the district's presidential vote is the key determinant.October 29th 1997
Majority Rule: As Easy As 1-2-3
FairVote's Rob Richie and Steven Hill argue that the U.S. can eliminate the problems caused by winner-take-all elections by adopting an instant runoff voting system (IRV).October 7th 1997
Forging a Living Democracy
Fairvote's Rob Ritchie and John Anderson comment on upcoming elections and some of the important issues to consider. Among them is the implementation of instant runoff voting.August 9th 1997
Money Doesn't Buy Love -- And Perhaps Not Most Elections
FairVote's Rob Richie and Steven Hill report their findings that show money does not necessarily predict the outcome of elections, rather the district's presidential vote is the key determinant.July 11th 1997
Case Closed: The Move to Fair Elections in Mexico and Elsewhere
FairVote's Rob Richie and Steven Hill argue that the winner-take-all elections in Mexico need to be replaced by proportional voting systems to ensure fair elections.[ Previous ] [ Next ]