On Electable from the Indiana Women’s Action Movement, RepresentWomen’s Cynthia Richie Terrell lays out a practical roadmap — ranked choice voting, local reforms, and service supports—to help more women run, win, serve, and lead.
Event: Electable (Indiana Women’s Action Movement)
Guest: Cynthia Richie Terrell — Founder & Executive Director, RepresentWomen; Co-founder, FairVote; Founder, ReflectUS
Host: Deb Chubb
How do we actually elect more women—and keep them in leadership? On Electable, RepresentWomen’s Cynthia Richie Terrell breaks down the twin-track strategy: prepare and support women candidates and change the rules so they can run, win, serve, and lead.
What’s inside:
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Why systems matter: How winner-take-all elections, incumbency advantages, and uncompetitive districts block progress—and how reforms fix it.
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Ranked Choice Voting (RCV): Gives voters more power and choice, reduces “spoiler” dynamics, lowers campaign toxicity and costs, and helps multiple women run without splitting the vote.
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City & state pathways: Councils can adopt RCV locally; state “local option” policies and administrative readiness (modern voting equipment) make transitions feasible.
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Service & leadership supports: Practical changes—childcare allowances, proxy/remote participation, fair legislative pay and scheduling—level the playing field for parents and working women.
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Pipeline + policy: Training networks and coalitions (ReflectUS origins, Women’s Power Collaborative) connect women’s representation groups with democracy-reform partners for scalable impact.
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Proof points: New York City’s combination of term limits + public financing + RCV helped deliver a majority-women City Council, many of whom are women of color.