Robert Richie - Executive Director
Robert RichieAn 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 28th 2006
Democrats should make fairness a priority in Congress
San Jose Mercury News

Updated commentary makes the case for congressional action on several reforms. Also ran in the Amarillo Globe-News and Providence Journal.

November 16th 2006
Americans of all stripes will want to join this party
Amarillo Globe-News

FairVote Director Rob Richie and New America Foundation Fellow Steven Hill on the growing popularity of pro-democracy reforms America needs: instant runoff voting, universal registration, professionalized administration and clean voter rolls.

November 4th 2006
Job One for Congress: improve elections
Sacramento Bee

FairVote's Rob Richie and The New America Foundation's Steven Hill urge Congress to ensure the integrity of the institution by improving the electoral process. This article has appeared in other newspapers as well.

October 29th 2006
Voting should be effortless, not chaotic
Portsmouth Herald

FairVote Director Rob Richie and Montgomery County Councilman Tom Perez discuss important electoral reforms. This article ran in the Portsmouth Herald, as well as in other publications that carry the McClatchy Tribune news wire.

October 27th 2006
Campaign 2006 and Bringing Instant Runoff Voting to the Tipping Point
opednews.com

Fairvote Executive Director, Rob Richie, discusses the popularity of instant run off voting this election cycle, and the benefits irv could bring to the cities where it is implemented.

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