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
July 4th 2008A simple way to encourage youth voting
The Providence Journal
FairVote Executive Director Rob Richie and Rhode Island Director Ari Savitzky explain why a uniform registration age merits an over-ride vote in Rhode IslandMay 18th 2008
A better proportion
Washington Times
Letter by FairVote's Rob Richie on the merits of allocating convention delegates by proportional representation.May 14th 2008
Unconventional wisdom: longer nomination helps Democrats
Belleville News Democrat
A Rob Richie Op-Ed explaining how the hotly contested presidential nomination between Obama and Clinton revitalizes the democratic voter turnout for all elections as well as Americans' involvement in politics.April 28th 2008
Time to run off runoffs
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Texas� April 8th runoff election experienced a dramatic decline in voter turnout from the March 4th initial round, Rob Richie explains why this huge turnout decrease makes the case for IRV.April 21st 2008
Instant runoffs worth the time and effort
Amarillo Globe News
Texas� April 8th runoff election experienced a dramatic decline in voter turnout from the March 4th initial round, Rob Richie explains why this huge turnout decrease makes the case for IRV.[ Previous ] [ Next ]