In March of 2006, FairVote and California Common Cause filed an amicus brief to defend the California Voting Rights Act of 2001, which would have allowed plaintiffs to challenge voting systems that dilute the voting strength of communities of color and to replace them with proportional or influence district voting systems. A state VRA showcases how states can protect voting rights even when Congress may weaken the federal Voting Rights Act. A judge threw the law out early in 2006.

Since then, the California Supreme Court upheld the statute in the Sanchez v. City of Modesto case. This historic move paves the way for introduction of this state voting rights act model in other states.

[ FairVote/Common Cause amicus brief (PDF) ]
[ More on the state VRA model ]

Released on Thursday, March 14, The Democracy Protection Act: 40 Ways Toward a More Perfect Union calls on lawmakers to enact forty reforms including instant runoff voting, proportional voting and the National Popular Vote plan.

40 Ways is a joint publication of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, Demos, the New Democracy Project and Nation magazine. Other proposals range from public financing of campaigns to strengthening civil rights to reform of classroom science curricula. Each proposal has a small chapter explaining its details and rationale.

Paper copies are available for $7 from the New Democracy Project.

[ Download the brief (PDF-574kb) ]
[ Order copies from New Democracy Project ]
[ Proportional voting ]
[ Instant runoff voting ]
[ National Popular Vote links ]

A U.S. District Court on February 9 ordered the city of Martin (SD) to implement cumulative voting for city council elections. The six-member, at-large council will be elected three at a time. Each voter will have three votes, which they can allocate any way they wish.

The order is to ensure the city's sizable Native American population, protected under the federal Voting Rights Act, has the opportunity to elect candidates of choice. Despite comprising over a third of Martin residents and a third of voters at the last election, geographically dispersed Native Americans have consistently failed to win representation in the city's district system.

Cumulative voting has been a successful remedy in similar cases from Amarillo (TX) to Peoria (IL). Illinois used cumulative voting to elect its House of Representatives from 1870 to 1980.

[ More on cumulative voting ]
[ South Dakota uses of cumulative voting ]