Fuzzy Math

436 mini-elections for president are worse than one

To combat the feeling many states have of being voiceless in presidential elections, some Republicans in California and Democrats in North Carolina want to see their states� electoral votes awarded by congressional district rather than by winner-take-all. That way, the Golden State�s GOP can presumably deliver a score of electoral votes to their party�s nominee, and Democrats of the Old North can give five for their team otherwise have none.

That�s fair, right? Not quite.

A new report by FairVote studies the flaws in alternative methods of allocating electoral votes.

[ Read the report ]
[ Read a Newsweek article on the California proposal ]
[ Hear a podcasted interview on our report ]

FairVote Launches Upgrade Democracy Video Contest!

Make a video. Win cash. Save democracy.

FairVote is launching its Upgrade Democracy Video Contest, and we're giving everyone a chance to flex their creativity by making a short digital video that answers the question, "if you could change anything you wanted about elections, what would our democracy look like?"

Contest entrants will upload their videos to YouTube where FairVote staff will choose a slate of nominees, and winners will be chosen by celebrity judges like filmmaker Richard Linklater (School of Rock, A Scanner Darkly), political guru Donna Brazile, and The Daily Show's Dan Bakkedahl...and many more!

Cash prizes will be awarded in various categories, and the first prize winner will get a trip to Washington, DC to receive their award at FairVote's Claim Democracy 2007 Conference on November 10, 2007. Click over to www.UpgradeDemocracy.com for all the details!