Recent media coverage: Full representation, instant runoff voting, competitive elections and comments by representatives of the Center for Voting and Democracy (FairVote) continue to be featured in major media around the nation. Fair elections legislation introduced in Congress and many states. Highlights are periodically summarized in FairVote's email newsletters.

Burlington, VT voters  will decide on whether to use IRV in city elections tomorrow, March 1. IRV has already proven popular in a non-binding November initiative. See an advertisement placed in Burlington newspapers by local IRV advocates here. (February 28, 2005) 

Rob Richie and Steven Hill's opinion piece on Instant Runoff Voting in San Francisco in the Christian Science Monitor discusses the deeper problems in American elections. (February 25, 2005)

The potential for minority rule in Congress: FairVote's Voting and Democracy Research Center releases data showing that legislation could pass the U.S. House with the support of members elected by just one in four voters in the 2004 election and far less in the U.S. Senate. (February 14, 2005)

The recent North Carolina Election Roundtables were a big success! See the upcoming events section of our newsletter for talks, conferences or other events coming up in your area. (February 13, 2005)

Howard Dean, a proponent of IRV for presidential primaries, is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee by and "in-person IRV" election, in which there are runoff and eliminations to determine the winner. (February 12, 2005)

Maine will consider implementing IRV for state legislative and gubernatorial races, and its Secretary of State will soon release a study on how IRV could be implemented. See FairVote's submission about the implementation of IRV in Maine. (February 6, 2005)

 In Iraq’s elections last weekend, political parties only needed to capture ¹/₂₇₅ of votes to earn a seat. Iraq’s departure from the U.S. winner-take-all election methods is particularly revealing, with the United States seeing that at least in other nations it can be critically important to ensure key political forces earn a seat at the table. (February 2, 2005)

Leaders of various pro-democracy groups met to discuss strategy and organizational techniques at a conference sponsored by FairVote. Stay tuned for more news about the Democracy USA movement. (February 2, 2005)

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to replace the state's current partisan gerrymandering regime with an independent redistricting commission composed of retired judges is generating discussion and controversy. Current redistricting practices essentially allow legislators to choose their voters. (January 30, 2005)

FairVote’s newly expanded Board of Directors met in Washington, D.C. recently. It was a stimulating meeting, with exciting plans for the year. (January 21, 2005)

Common Dreams publishes commentary by FairVote Executive Director Rob Richie and Senior Analyst Steven Hill on San Francisco's successful ranked choice voting election. (January 12, 2005)

FairVote board member Congresman Jesse Jackson, comments on the need for electoral reforms, including a Constitutional right to vote on the House floor. (January 6, 2005)

The Canadian Wheat Board, which uses IRV for its mail-in election, announced the results of the contest. (December 30, 2004)

"IRV advances." Howard Ditkoff summarizes IRV wins for the Green Party's national publication. (December 2004)

"Instant runoff voting makes November 2." The Ferndale, MI ballot initiative's lead organizer, Howard Ditkoff, discusses national IRV victories. (December 2004)

"Lots of ink and pixels have been spilled about the need for electoral reforms in this country." Steven Hill and Rob Richie discuss the lack of consensus around electoral reform. (December 21, 2004)

"Making elections better," and stopping divisiveness, too." Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Mass IRV activist James Henderson pen an advocacy piece. (December 25, 2004)

"Not satisfied with tinkering with the little details of electoral reform? Take a look at some of these bold reforms: American Prospect editor Robert Kuttner features FairVote and its reform proposals as part of a major issue on electoral reform. (December 21, 2004)

"Lawmakers seek to end gerrymandering." Common Cause Massachusetts director advocates legislation for IRV and gerrymandering reform. (December 16, 2004)

"MSA OKs runoff voting."  Minnesota Student Association approves the use of IRV in their elections.  (December 16, 2004)

"Chinese Leaders Disagree that New Voting System in S.F. Discriminates Against Chinese." Article dispels concerns about equity under IRV. (December 14, 2004)

"The Body Politic." Excerpt touches on San Francisco State University's study of IRV in the November election. (December 13, 2004)

"A solution to the electoral meltdown." FairVote's Steven Hill advocates IRV for future San Diego mayoral elections. (December 3, 2004)

"No more sham elections." New York Times columnist features FairVote's Rob Richie in his review of how we must improve American elections. (November 20, 2004)

"Election reflections from the Libertarian fringe." Op-Ed makes case for full representation. (November 20, 2004)

"Try Choice Voting" A letter to the editor making the case for the use of choice voting in City Council elections in Davis, CA. (November 18, 2004)

"No Vote Necessary: Redistricting is creating a U.S. House of Lords." Syndicated columnist David Broder features FairVote analysis of lack of competition in U.S. House races. (November 11, 2004)

"Ignoring Tired Pleas." Calls for IRV to solve progressive activist concerns. (November 9, 2004)

"A big win for someone is a big loss for America." Student discusses IRV, the electoral college and minor parties. (November 4, 2004)

"Taking Democracy a Step Further." UC-Davis student praises San Francisco, calls for IRV in national elections. (November 4, 2004)

"Scandal in the House." FairVote's analysis cited in criticism of Congressional redistricting. (November 4, 2004)

Ferndale, MI voters overwhelmingly pass Proposal B " to authorize Instant Runoff Voting (IRV)" (November 3, 2004)

 "Abolish the Electoral College: America's leaders should be chosen in instant runoff elections."  (November 2, 2004)

"Putting fun back into elections: It's almost over except for the litigation."  (November 2, 2004)

"For Reformers, Making Election Day Easier is a Hard Sell." (November 1, 2004)

"Direct Elections Now!" Commentary supporting direct election of the president with instant runoff voting. October 31, 2004.

"New election, same old 2000 problems" Commentary  by FairVote's Rob Richie and Steven Hill lays out a comprehensive reform agenda. It appeared in publications around the nation." (October 29, 2004)

 "Instant runoff: rethinking the spoiler dynamic." Pacific Green Party founder advocates IRV to solve spoiler dilemma. (October 28, 2004)

 "Electoral College is doing harm to our democracy." Author notes the states' distortion of influence contradicting the equal voice principle. (October 28, 2004)

"Loser take all." FairVote's Rob Richie and Steven Hill describe how one party could lose the popular vote for both president and Congress, yet sweep into power. (October 28, 2004)

FairVote's chairman and senior staff publish commentaries: John Anderson calls for reform in the Chicago Tribune and Rob Richie and Steven Hill publish commentaries on Loser take all, Time to demand a modern democracy, and Proposition 62 in California. (October 27)

Detroit Free Press editorial endorses Ferndale's IRV ballot measure, drawing regional coverage to IRV in the local charter amendment push. (October 21)

Nationally syndicated columnist William Raspberry highlights comments of FairVote's Rob Richie in discussing instant runoff voting and reform of winner-take-all elections. (October 18)

New Congressional legislation: One bill to require IRV for Congressional elections and one resolution for direct election of president by popular majority. (October 11)

An analysis of state legislative elections shows a rise in the percentage of uncontested races to nearly two out of every five seats. (October 8)

Major news attention to IRV in San Francisco in New York Times, L.A. Times and San Francisco Chronicle and is featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition . (September 30)

Radio host Thom Hartmann's book, What Would Jefferson Do?, features an excerpt on Instant Runoff Voting. (September 29)

With the passing of all relevant primaries, a completed analysis of the chances for women in the U.S. House of Representatives is now available.  (September 15)

The citizen assembly in British Columbia has released some reform recommendations.  See our page on electoral reform in Canada for more information.  (September 14)

Nirvana's Novoselic on tour for pro-democracy book--and the Center for Voting and Democracy:  Krist Novoselic, founding member of the band Nirvana and a Washington state political activist, has a new book called "Of Grunge & Government:  Let's Fix This Broken Democracy."  He is launching a national tour for the book and for supporting CVD.  (August 30)

CVD director to co-moderate third party presidential candidate debate:  Rob Richie is one of two moderators for the August 31 debate among the three third party presidential candidates on the most state ballots.  CSPAN will televise the debate, which is sure to feature fair elections.  (August 30)

New York Times editorializes against Electoral College:  The nation's most influential newspaper calls for direct election of the president.  Its call has serious reform implications.  (August 29)

Minnesota city to study IRV and fair election methods:  The city council of Hopkins, which was once elected by choice voting, has established a task force to study fair election voting methods like instant runoff voting.  (August 26)

New report shows voters understand cumulative voting at work:  Well over 98% of voters used all four of their votes without error in Amarillo's May 2004 cumulative voting election, according to a new report by Professor David Rausch.  (August 25)

CVD one of the 11 pro-democracy groups to issue report on presidential debates:  Eleven civic groups, including the Center for Voting and Democracy, released a report today entitled "Deterring Democracy: How the Commission on Presidential Debates Undermines Democracy."  CVD's Rob Richie spoke about the report at the National Press Club.  (August 23)

CVD's Election Data Project:  The record of state legislative elections in the United States is lacking.  Help document out electoral history.

New article highlights global spread of IRV: Australian political scientist publishes new article on "The Global Spread of Preferential Voting" (available in pdf format) (August 11)

New book by Nirvana band member Novoselic to feature full representation: Krist Novoselic, former bass player for the band Nirvana and long active in Washington state politics, has a new book "Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix this Broken Democracy" that includes a strong call for full representation. Novoselic will be coming to a city near you to tout his book and hold house parties for CVD. (August 9)

CVD's Rob Richie in print: CVD's executive director has written four articles, including one with Steven Hill, for a book and two journals. Available as downloads, they are: on the American full representation campaign from "Steps Toward Making Every Vote Count: Electoral System Reform in Canada and its Provinces" (Henry Milner, editor; Broadview Press, 2004); on instant runoff voting for an "Election Law Journal" symposium on Democracy and Elections in North America" (Volume 3, Number 3 2004); on full representation and redistricting reform (from the National Civic Review); and on building a pro-democracy movement in the United States (from the National Civic Review). (August 1)

Howard Dean's July 26 syndicated column calls for IRV in presidential primaries: The former Democratic Party presidential frontunner expands on previous IRV advocacy for general elections. (July 30)

CVD holds successful pro-democracy events in Boston on July 26and July 28: Speakers included Rev. Jesse Jackson, Members of Congress Jesse Jackson Jr. and Dennis Kucinich, scholars Lani Guinier, Jamin Raskin, Pippa Norris, Alex Keyssar and Benjamin Barber and journalists Robert Kuttner, John Nichols and Hendrik Hertzberg. (July 30)

An alternative for the election of corporate board of directors:  Cumulative voting can be used to increase minority shareholders input on corporate boards, increase corporate accountability and reduce corruption.  A discussion of the advantages of cumulative voting, as well as a listing of state statutes regarding its implementation.  (July 29)

Leading progressive voices endorse IRV as part of our 2004 electoral strategy: Tom Hayden, Daniel Ellsberg, Peter Coyote, Medea Benjamin and Michael Lerner among group signing onto statement endorsing IRV for national elections. (July 28)

San Francisco has confirmed that it will use IRV for its November 2004 city elections--the first use of IRV in a major city in the modern era. Read two articles in The San Francisco Chronicle and The San Francisco Bay Guardian. (July 14)

CVD Board member Hendrik Hertzberg's new book includes powerful essays advocating for full representation and IRV: Long-time New Yorker writer Hendrik Hertzberg's new collection of his writings, "Politics: Observations and Arguments" features commentary about the value of electoral reform. Read a recent interview with the author published in Pioneer Press.  (July 7)

The Washington Post publishes an op-ed defending full representation in Iraq: Andrew Reynolds explains why Iraq will use a party list form of full representation in its January 2005 elections. (July 6)

On July 28th, CVD is co-hosting an event in the City of Cambridge on how innovative election rules can reinvigorate American Democracy. (July 2)  

CVD urges elected officials to push for more democratic forms of election systems, especially on the local level. CVD can provide election systems consulting, as well as resources and assistance with the following methods of advocating for reform. (July 1)

Women and the U.S. House:  An analysis considering where women may gain or lose seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2004 elections. (June 30)

2004 presidential candidates call for IRV and full representation: The
leading non-major party candidates for president all back instant runoff
voting and full representation. See statements from Green Party
presidential nominee David Cobb, Libertarian Party nominee Michael Badnarik and independent candidate Ralph Nader. (June 29)

Big month for full representation in Canada: Canadians went to the polls on June 28 with prime minister candidates from major parties expressing interest or support in a national referendum on full representation. Read our page on electoral reform in Canada, articles on the debate in Canada and on how a citizen assembly in British Columbia will select a full representation method for the ballot.  Also, look at a pre-election and post-election update from Fair Vote Canada. (June 29)

New CVD commentaries tout IRV: Rob Richie joins with Steven Hill to propose direct election of the President and to ask in the Nation Magazine why more Democrats aren't seeking to implement IRV.  Richie and Jennifer Ambler argue in the Myrtle Beach Sun News that IRV is a big improvement over traditional delayed runoffs. (June 28)  

Voting Reform events during Democratic Convention: On July 26th CVD sponsors a high-profile event on the right to vote.  Featured speakers include Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., Professor Jamin Raskin and more.  The event has limited space. All attendees must register beforehand by sending your name, address, phone and/or email to the Center for Voting and Democracy via email ([email protected]) or mail: Stephanie Collier, The Center for Voting and Democracy, 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 610, Takoma Park, MD 20912. All attendees will need to present a photo ID at the event. (June 27)

Papua New Guinea has successful IRV election: Papua New Guinea adopted IRV for parliamentary elections in 2003.  Election officials hailed its use in a recent special election as a success, particularly in voters using the system effectively and the system promoting more positive campaigns. (June 26)

Big win for choice voting in United Kingdom: Scotland adopts choice voting (aka "single transferable vote") for city elections. A new reform coalition backs choice voting for local elections in Wales. (June 23)

IRV ballot drives in Florida, Washington state and Ferndale, Michigan: Reformers have launched ballot drives to put IRV on the ballot in Florida and in Washington state.  The city council in Ferndale has voted unanimously to draft potential IRV ballot language for November 2004. (June 20)

Ballot measures seeks proportional allocation of electoral votes in Colorado: A well-financed ballot measure would change Colorado's winner-take-all allocation of  electoral votes to one allocated by proportional representation.  Read comments on a political blog. (June 15)

Washington state Democrats support fair election voting methods: The Democratic Party State Platform Committee of Washington has endorsed attention to instant runoff voting and full representation. (June 14)

London mayoral race decided by IRV, council chosen by full representation: London mayor Ken Livingstone (first elected in 2000 by IRV as an independent) was re-elected on June 10 by a limited form of instant runoff voting. IRV was needed as he won less than 40% of first choices. The mixed member form of full representation was used to elect the council.  Voter turnout was up from 2000. Read an article in the Guardian and see the London election webpage. (June 12)

Growing call for inclusive debates: The Los Angeles Times calls for the Citizens' Debate Commission to run this year's debates.  (June 12)

CVD conducts demonstration elections with IRV and choice voting at several events. Read how League of Women Voters members voted on the most influential women in American history and how various groups voted on who John Kerry should select as his running mate. Read results of a Nation magazine election with more than 10,000 participants.
(June 11)

CVD Board member in American Candidate reality TV show: Boston Vote founder and CVD Board member Malia Lazu is one of the finalists in Showtime's new reality TV show to select a candidate for president. Former CVD field director Rashad Robinson is her campaign manager. (June11) 

North Dakotans strongly rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment to lift the requirement that corporations use the full representation method of cumulative voting.  South Korea soon will require all corporate boards to be elected by cumulative voting. (June 8)

Iraq's elections in January 2005 and Afghanistan's elections in September 2004 will be held with full representation: Following South Africa's model, Iraq will hold January 2005 elections using a very inclusive form of full representation based on party lists. Women will be sure of winning at least a quarter of seats. Afghanistan will use a candidate-based form of full representation for September 2004 elections. (June 4) 

Maine adopts legislation to fund study on IRV: This spring Maine's governor signed LD 212, a resolution requiring the Secretary of State to study the feasibility of using IRV in Maine elections. (June 3) 

Study shows big undervote in citywide council elections: Reform group in Santa Monica (CA) draws significant media coverage for study showing how the fact that more than four in ten voters did not cast a full slate of votes in Santa Monica's recent city council races indicates the value of the choice voting method of full representation. (June 1) 

The Washington Post's William Raspberry argues for the adoption of multi-member congressional districts and ranked-choice voting, featuring CVD's research on US House races. (May 24)

UC Davis report on choice voting in student elections: University of California-Davis is one of more than 20 colleges and universities using fair election methods for student elections, electing its student council by the choice method of full representation. Advocates provide a choice voting analysis (in pdf) of recent elections. (May 18)

Newsweek On-Line profile of Green Party: Profile of Green Party highlights many of its members' support for IRV as a means to avoid the "spoiler" dilemma faced by third parties. (May 17)

Cumulative voting provides full representation in Amarillo for third school board election: An African American candidate was elected to the Amarillo (TX) independent school district on May 15, 2004. A candidate of color has been elected in all three cumulative voting elections after years of all-white school boards under winner-take-all. (May 17)

India sees unexpected election outcome; commentator suggests full representation as another needed change. (May 14)

Voting Information Center provides information on voter registration and voting rights. (May 14)

National Union Leaders Back Cumulative Voting for Electing Corporation: AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka joins other union leaders in proposing cumulative voting for Entergy Corporation: it "would bring an independent perspective to the corporation." See news release and reform website. (May 13)

CVD joins coalition seeking full funding for HAVA: States and the Election Assistance Commission need more fund to help states implement the Help America Vote Act fairly and fully CVD has joined many other groups in a letter calling for funds (pdf file). (May 13)   

Utah GOP convention used IRV to select US congressional candidates and narrowed an eight-candidate gubernatorial field to two finalists who will square off in a June primary. (May 10) 

Instant runoff voting at the center of most third-party presidential candidates' platform: Green party is the most recent to receive coverage. (May 6)

Numerous Texas Cities and School Districts will hold their local city council and school board elections this May using cumulative voting, a full representation system championed by legal scholar Lani Guinier and signed into law by then-governor George W. Bush in 1995. (May 3)

Washington state initiative for IRV launched: Instant Runoff Washington has formed to collect signatures in 2004 for action in 2005. (April 29)

CVD adds Right To Vote Amendment page.  CVD is currently working with Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL-2) to promote H.J. Res. 28, an amendment to add a right to vote to the Constitution. (April 29)

"Touchscreen" company pledges to add ranked-choice voting capacity at no cost by 2005: AccuPoll, a major new voting equipment company with a touchscreen system with a voter verified paper trail, announced today that it would be able to  run ranked-choice voting elections like IRV at no extra cost in 2005. (April 29)

Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling upholding Pennsylvania gerrymander points to the need for full representation: The Court's ongoing difficulty with a clear standard to resolve the admittedly awful state of political
gerrymandering argues strongly for full representation. See
today's opinion and commentary on the ruling. (April 28)

Blue ribbon committee considers choice voting: A Burlington, Vermont blue ribbon committee in 2003 had several backers of adopting the choice voting method of full representation. (April 28)

San Francisco equipment certified for November 2004 IRV elections: The California Voting Systems Panel approved ES&S equipment modifications. Read the Center's report and a news article. (April 22)

As in every year since 2001, Utah Republicans will use IRV this May to select their party nominees for state and US Senate elections. (April 21)

Additions to data on non-majority governors: The Center has collected a range of data on non-majority winners in American elections, including new numbers on non-majority governors since 1948. (April 19)

CVD executive director on C-SPAN: CVD's Rob Richie spoke at a news conference covered by CSPAN April 12, 2004 about running debates in the public interest organized by Open Debates. (April 16)

Major win for IRV at the University of Minnesota: An overwhelming 75% of students voted to adopt Instant Runoff Voting for student elections.  An initiative spearheaded by the Minn. PIRG chapter at UMN along with other campus organizations obtained the needed votes to put the IRV bill on the ballot and then campaigned hard for its adoption.  (April 15)

IRV adopted by neighborhood council board in Venice area of Los Angeles. (April 15)

South Africa holds its third national PR election. (April 15)

Voter turnout for 2004 primary elections compiled by state. (April 14)

Press releases from Britain's Electoral Reform Society and Canada's Fair Vote Canada announce strong steps toward proportional representation in their respective countries. (March 31)

Russian corporations required by law to adopt cumulative voting for better shareholder representation. (March 17)

Berkeley votes big for IRV: Backed by the mayor, a city council majority, and civic groups like the League of Women Voters, Berkeley voted 72%-28% on March 2 to authorize IRV for city elections. (March 4)

CVD's Illinois project highlights IRV in primaries: The Center is launching a major project on the merits of giving voters fuller choice in primaries. Read "Pick a Winner" and visit www.primarypoll.com. (February 5)

Canadian commission recommends full representation: Canada's leading newspaper reports that the National Law Commission will recommend that Canada replace winner-take-all elections. The Center has compiled information on this and other moves toward change in Canada. A leading electoral reform group, FairVote Canada, summarizes Canadian progress for full representation.  (February 5)

Berkeley votes on IRV ballot measure on March 2: Backed by the mayor, city council and League of Women Voters, Measure I would allow Berkeley to replace December runoffs with instant runoff voting. (February 4) 

Fair and secure voting equipment: The Center has collected links to a number of sites that address the fairness and security of modern voting equipment. We urge readers to get involved in this timely issue. (February 3)   

National civic leaders from the left, right, and center of the political spectrum, including the Center's president John Anderson, have come together to form the Citizens' Debate Commission. The commission will sponsor fair, innovative and nonpartisan debates among political candidates. (January 30)

Texas congressional gerrymander upheld: The Supreme Court has refused to block a ruling by a three-judge panel that upheld a potentially trendsetting congressional redistricting map adopted in Texas in 2003 -- a transparent partisan grab by Republicans that could lead to similar mid-decennial redistricting in other states by both major parties. See news stories on the Texas page of our redistricting guide, the opinion by the three-judge panel (in pdf) and a summary of Texas filings compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice. (January 16)

Full representation the dominant system among established democracies: Mark Jones' annual chart on full-fledged democracies shows that only a handful of major democracies do not use full representation for at least one national election. (January 14)

Time for a right to vote in the Constitution: The Center held a meeting in November 2003 to consider the merits of adding an affirmative right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. Several presenters' papers are available. (January 14)

Ranked-choice surveys increase in political polling: Pollsters are more frequently soliciting second choices in polling in large-candidate fields. (January 14)

Full representation in presidential elections: Read about U.S. primary systems, and particularly the Democratic primaries and caucuses that use full representation to nominate presidential candidates. (January 13)

Reports examine state of American elections: We have posted pdf files on recent reports from: the Century Foundation and electionline.org on election reform and the  2004 elections; Demos and several other groups on implementation of the Help America Vote Act; and the Congressional Research Service on touchscreen voting equipment. (January 12)

British Columbia creates a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform: The Canadian province recently established an assembly to evaluate their current voting system in comparison with others around the world. A decision of whether to keep the current model or create a new one will be made in December 2004. (January 12)

Pacifica radio network uses choice voting to elect listener boards: The five radio stations in Berkeley (CA), Houston, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. that make up the Pacifica radio network are all holding elections for listener boards with the choice voting method of full representation. (January 10)

Redistricting legislation in the US Congress: View background information on and links to bills introduced in Congress since the 1970's  to change redistricting procedures or requirements. (January 9)