In the News
January 24, 2024
This article, published in the Fulcrum, discusses ranked choice voting and independent redistricting, which round out the top three, and quotes RepresentWomen. Read an excerpt below:
Democracy reformers may not always agree on the best ways to improve the American political system, but a survey of reform leaders shows some consensus on structural priorities that could make elections more competitive and result in more moderate elected officials: open primaries, ranked-choice voting and nonpartisan redistricting.
The Fulcrum asked representatives from dozens of organizations that focus on political change and engagement to identify the three most important reform proposals that should be pursued in 2024. While the 51 respondents offered nearly as many options, slightly more than half identified open primaries as one of their three biggest priorities.
“They allow the largest voting block in our country – Independent/nonpartisan/unaffiliated voters – to fully participate in all of our taxpayer-funded public elections,” said Eric Bonner, founder and chief operating officer of Veterans for All Voters.
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“RCV is both doable and highly impactful regarding representation and depolarization,” said Tom Charron, president of the California RCV Coalition. According to the group FairVote, which advocates for ranked-choice voting, the system is used in 50 cities, counties and states.
Some advocates want to go one step further and pair RCV with multi-member districts.
“Multi-winner RCV is the gold standard electoral reform for achieving gender balance in the U.S.; it kills multiple barriers with one stone,” said Katie Usalis, partnerships director for RepresentWomen.
Sixteen survey respondents mentioned nonpartisan redistricting or the creation of independent redistricting commissions as a top priority, placing it third on the list.
In two-thirds of states, the legislatures control the congressional and/or legislative redistricting process, which means elected officials determine the lines. In the other states, either a commission or a hybrid structure has responsibility for redistricting.
Read the full article here.
