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FairVote, formerly the Center for Voting and Democracy, is a
501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of t ...
that advocates
electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: * Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-ru ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Founded in 1992 as Citizens for Proportional Representation to support the implementation of proportional representation in American elections, the organization in 1993 became the Center for Voting and Democracy and in 2004 changed its name to FairVote to reflect its support of such proposals as
instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...
(IRV), for single and multi-winner elections, a national popular vote for president, a right-to-vote amendment to the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
, and universal
voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...
. FairVote releases regular publications on the state of the U.S. electoral system, including ''Dubious Democracy'' and ''Monopoly Politics''. Notable members of FairVote's board of directors have included its past chairs, former
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
bassist
Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...
and former Congressman and 1980
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
presidential candidate
John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...
.


About


Founding

FairVote was founded as Citizens for Proportional Representation (CPR) in 1992 in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, by a diverse group of scholars, grassroots activists, civic leaders, and politicians. The result of a merger of several smaller groups promoting
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
reform into a single, nationalized advocacy group. Early leaders included Robert Richie as executive director, Matthew Cossolotto as president and
Steven Hill Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
as western regional director. John Anderson was head of its national advisory board and in 1992 published a ''New York Times'' commentary advocating IRV in presidential elections. The CPR ended its founding year operating in
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
, with around 200 members.


History and timeline

Since its founding, FairVote has expanded its reach and expressed its platforms to both the public and all levels of government through campaigns, blogs, newsletters, lobbying, interviews, amicus curiae briefs, and numerous media outlets. Notable events include: *1992:
Ted Berry Theodore Moody Berry (November 8, 1905 – October 15, 2000) is an American politician of the Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio and was the first African-American mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Early life and education Born in poverty in Maysville, ...
, the first African-American mayor of Cincinnati, conducts a welcoming speech at the CPR opening convention. Berry was a firm supporter of proportional representation and fought in the 1980s and 1990s to reinstate the practice in Cincinnati after its repeal in 1957. *1993: Citizens for Proportional Representation changes its name to the Center for Voting and Democracy to reflect support of other reforms, such as IRV and universal voter registration. The Center for Voting and Democracy relocates to Washington, D.C. *1994: Robert Richie appears on national radio to explain a federal judge's ruling that cumulative voting be used to settle a voting rights case in ''Cane vs. Worcester County, M.D.'' The Center for Voting and Democracy releases the first ''Dubious Democracy'', its biannual report on the state of democracy in congressional elections. *1996: Steven Hill runs the first campaign for electoral system reform in the US for several decades, a voter initiative to pass preference voting (proportional representation) in San Francisco. The campaign loses, 54-46%, but sets the stage for future victories. *1997: The Center releases ''Monopoly Politics'', a report on the undemocratic elements of the single winner plurality system. The center's news conference is filmed on C-SPAN, and Rob Richie's opinion appears in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. *1999: IRV for statewide elections passes in the New Mexico State Senate. *2002: Led by western regional director Steven Hill, San Francisco becomes the first major city to pass a voter initiative, 54-46%, to adopt IRV for certain citywide elections *2002: Steven Hill's book ''Fixing Elections: the Failure of American's Winner Take All Elections'' is published, making the case for electoral system reform in the United States. *2004: San Francisco becomes the first city since Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1975 to use IRV in public elections, after suing recalcitrant city officials to compel compliance with the law. *2005: Arkansas institutes IRV for overseas military voters *2006: South Carolina institutes IRV for military and overseas voters and Oakland and Minneapolis pass it for city elections *2007: Maryland becomes the first state to pass the National Popular Vote plan for president *2010: Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro, California, all use IRV for the first time to elect local offices. *2012: Robert Richie writes for ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' supporting a national popular vote for president *2013: Robert Richie coauthors the fourth edition of '' Every Vote Equal'', a book explaining and supporting the
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact MD, NJ, IL, HI, WA, MA, DC, VT, CA, RI, NY, CT, CO, DE, NM, OR MI, PA, TX The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposed interstate compact among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award a ...
*2014: New York lawmakers pass a national popular vote bill that will award the state's electoral votes to the candidate who receives the majority of the popular vote *2015: FairVote co-hosts with the
Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of nort ...
a "Democracy Slam" with NBC's
Chuck Todd Charles David Todd (born April 8, 1972) is an American television journalist who is the 12th and current moderator of NBC's ''Meet the Press''. He also hosts ''Meet the Press Now'', its daily edition on NBC News Now and is the Political Directo ...
and other leading journalists and professors, with its key reforms receiving high ratings. *2016: Maine becomes the first state to adopt IRV statewide, with FairVote and FairVote Maine arm involved in the campaign. * 2017: Congressman
Don Beyer Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. (; born June 20, 1950) is an American businessman, diplomat, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his district is in the heart of Northern Virginia and in ...
introduces the Fair Representation Act at an event organized by FairVote. FairVote New Mexico wins a lawsuit to keep Santa Fe on track to implement RCV in 2018. * 2018: Maine voters uphold RCV for congressional and primary elections, and Utah passes a law enabling cities to use RCV, with two cities opting to do so in 2019. * 2019: New York City adopts RCV, and the Democratic National Committee approves use of RCV ballots in five party-run presidential primaries and caucuses in 2020. * 2020: The state of Alaska and six cities pass ballot measures on RCV. FairVote is headquartered in
Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree C ...
.


Mission

The stated mission of FairVote is "a nonpartisan champion of electoral reforms that give voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy that works for all Americans." FairVote concentrates its efforts on electoral reform in the United States through research, education, outreach, and support of policies that foster equal representation and greater transparency within the electoral administration. The organization's projects fall into three broad categories: fair access to participation, fair elections, and fair representation. To that end, it sponsors programs like the Democracy Secretary of State (SoS) Project, which scrutinizes practices obstructing the voting process while proposing solutions to hold electoral officials accountable for their actions. The Promote Our Vote project focuses on local ideas to spur participation. Members of FairVote regularly write blogs, provide commentary in interviews, and offer internships for interested youth.


Public perception


General coverage

FairVote has been covered by many major news outlets, including ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', and
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, which tend to call it a
nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
. Other commonly used terms include: "voting rights organization", "election reform advocacy group", "national reform organization", and "election participation and reform group". ''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'' referred to the group as "election-protection campaigners".


Alleged liberal bias

In his ''New York Times'' profile of FairVote co-founder Steven Hill'','' Scott James called FairVote a "left-wing group". Other writers have claimed that many FairVote policies, such as IRV, are popular in "liberal enclaves" and supported by "populist groups" such as
Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...
, an advocacy organization, and thus give the group a liberal tilt. Louis Jacobson, a writer for ''
Roll Call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of ...
'', argues that any group supporting the
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact MD, NJ, IL, HI, WA, MA, DC, VT, CA, RI, NY, CT, CO, DE, NM, OR MI, PA, TX The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposed interstate compact among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award a ...
will be perceived as liberal-leaning because of Democratic frustration with the Electoral College after the 2000 Presidential Election. But Rob Richie, FairVote's president, has said, " airVoteis definitely not a Democratic stalking horse." In addition, FairVote points to John Anderson, who was president of the organization's first advisory board and a current member of the Board of Directors, who ran for president as an Independent in 1980. In fact, before Anderson ran for president, he was a Republican Congressman from Illinois.


Proposed reforms

Released in 2013, Reform 2020 is a set of four major reform goals *
Fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...
Representation Voting * Ranked Choice Voting * Constitutional Right to Vote * National Popular Vote


Electoral procedure

FairVote advocates the use of
instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...
(IRV) in single-winner elections. Under this system, voters rank candidates in order of preference, in contrast to the more widely used
plurality voting Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...
system. FairVote has spread the term "ranked-choice voting" (RCV) in the United States to describe
single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
and
instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...
; the organization opposes
Condorcet Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (; 17 September 1743 – 29 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher and mathematician. His ideas, including support for a liberal economy, free and equal pu ...
electoral systems, which are also ranked-choice voting systems. In 2002, FairVote backed a
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
ballot initiative amending Section 13.102 of the city charter to allow IRV in local elections. The city began using IRV to elect local officials on November 2, 2004. Subsequent ballot initiatives supported by FairVote have allowed the use of IRV in the following cities (listed with first year of use): *
Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree C ...
(2007) *
Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
(2009) *
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, Berkeley and San Leandro (2010) *
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
(2010) *
San Leandro, California San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sou ...
(2010) * St. Paul, Minnesota (2011) *
Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
(2011) *
Telluride, Colorado Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains. The firs ...
(2011) *
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
(not yet implemented) *
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...
(2018) FairVote supports modification of state laws governing the Electoral College so that the president is elected by national popular vote. FairVote advocates the
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact MD, NJ, IL, HI, WA, MA, DC, VT, CA, RI, NY, CT, CO, DE, NM, OR MI, PA, TX The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposed interstate compact among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award a ...
, an agreement among states and the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to award their electoral votes to the candidate with the highest
popular vote Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...
total in all 50 states and DC. FairVote has played an active role in lobbying state officials to join the compact. New York Assemblyman
Fred Thiele Frederick W. Thiele Jr. (born August 8, 1953) is an American politician who serves in the New York State Assembly from the 1st district since 2013 and the 2nd district from 1992 to 2012, as a member of multiple political parties. Thiele was ori ...
said he first proposed New York's entrance into the compact after being approached by FairVote. FairVote advocates the use of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
(which they call "fair representation voting") in multi-seat assembly and council elections throughout the United States. In this system, each candidate or party controls a share of seats equal to its share of the vote. The organization has proposed combining several congressional districts into one to allow for proportional representation in the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
, as well as in the California and Michigan state assemblies. They advocate for several PR systems, including STV (which they ''also'' call "Ranked Choice Voting"),
cumulative voting Cumulative voting (also accumulation voting, weighted voting or multi-voting) is a multiple-winner method intended to promote more proportional representation than winner-take-all elections such as block voting or first past the post. Cumulativ ...
, unordered
open list Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This is as opposed to closed list, which allows only active members, par ...
("Open Ticket Voting"),
SNTV SNTV may refer to: *Single non-transferable vote, an electoral system in multi-member constituency elections *Sistema Nacional de Televisión (Nicaragua), the Nicaraguan state broadcaster from 1990–1997 *Sistema Nacional de Televisión (Paraguay) ...
("Single-Vote Method"), and MMP ("Districts Plus").


Voting rights

FairVote has backed the proposed Right to Vote Amendment
House Joint Resolution 44
, sponsored by Representatives
Mark Pocan Mark William Pocan ( ; born August 14, 1964) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district since 2013. The district is based in the state capital, Madison. A member of th ...
(D-WI) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), under which citizens would be guaranteed a
constitutional right A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...
to vote. FairVote filed a policy brief in support of the legislation, stating, "We believe that the right to vote is a cornerstone of representative democracy that depends upon broadly defined voter eligibility, universal voter access to the polls, and election integrity." FairVote has also advocated universal voter registration, a system in which all citizens of legal
voting age A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain before they become eligible to vote in a public election. The most common voting age is 18 years; however, voting ages as low as 16 and as high as 25 currently exist ( ...
would be registered to vote automatically.


Research and reports


Election research

FairVote has conducted research on both presidential and Congressional elections. Most of its presidential election research focuses on the electoral college's effects on campaigning. In its 2012 Presidential Election analysis, FairVote documented the large disparity in both time and money spent in
swing states In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pres ...
(e.g.,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
) versus safe states (e.g.,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
). In addition, FairVote has begun publishing data on how much time sitting presidents spend in swing states. FairVote releases two main documents of Congressional research every election cycle. The first is "Monopoly Politics", which contains predictions and analysis for each race. FairVote first categorizes each seat according to its competitiveness; seats are labeled Safe Democratic, Likely Democratic, Lean Democratic, Toss Up, Lean Republican, Likely Republican, or Safe Republican. Relatedly, FairVote gives each district a
partisanship A partisan is a committed member of a political party or army. In multi-party systems, the term is used for persons who strongly support their party's policies and are reluctant to compromise with political opponents. A political partisan is no ...
ranking derived from previous elections. FairVote then predicts what percentage of the vote candidates will receive. Lastly, the research tries to predict
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
winning percentages for the election cycle. For example, FairVote expects incumbents to do 4.5% better in 2014 than they did in 2012. The second major document is "Dubious Democracy", an assessment of Congressional elections' fairness. By aggregating Congressional race data since 1982, the research attempts to highlight several elements of Congressional elections—the ratio of competitive to noncompetitive districts, the effects of
gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
, and
voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...
—that FairVote believes hurt the democratic process. In the report, every Congressional race is placed on a scale of competitiveness, from Tight (<5% margin of victory) to No Contest (>40% margin of victory), and the percentage of races within each category is tracked over time. In addition, the research tracks voter turnout and
wasted vote In electoral systems, a wasted vote is any vote which is not for an elected candidate or, more broadly, a vote that does not help to elect a candidate. The narrower meaning includes ''lost votes'', being only those votes which are for a losing candi ...
s over time. Lastly, the report follows the success of incumbents in winning reelection over time. In addition to Monopoly Politics and Dubious Democracy, after the 2010 midterm elections FairVote released data on the effect of
third-party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Ve ...
and spoiler candidates. The report found that there were many districts in which the winning candidate did not receive a majority of the vote, a fact the group finds problematic. In addition, the research highlighted races in which Independents garnered a sizable percentage of the vote. Finally, FairVote created Representation 2020, a project that hopes to achieve parity in the numbers of men and women serving in elected office. The project has three main goals: institutionalizing changes in party rules to recruit and train more women to run for office, creating family-friendly legislative schedules, and replacing single-member districts with multi-member districts with proportional representation. Representation2020 has since become a separate nonprofit called RepresentWomen; it is still closely aligned with FairVote.


Voting rights

FairVote has created two projects that aim to expand and protect voting rights in the United States. The first, Promote Our Vote, tries to provide support and resources for groups focused on expanding
voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
. The group provides electoral research, legal analysis, and communications assistance. In addition, Promote Our Vote creates support for a constitutional right to vote amendment by building up support at the local level, focusing mainly on college campuses. The second project is Democracy SoS, which aims to familiarize voters with the important role of state-level Secretary of State officials. To that end, the project has issued reports on state election preparedness, interviewed state election officials, and published voter guides that focus on election reform policies. The project also hopes to popularize its candidate surveys, which include questions about election planning and election integrity.


Involvement in court cases

FairVote has participated in a number of recent court cases as
amici curiae An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
to advance fair representation voting, particularly under the California and federal Voting Rights Act. Notable recent cases in which they have been involved include:


''Sanchez v. City of Modesto'' (2007)

''Sanchez v. City of Modesto'' (2007) dealt with the constitutionality of the
California Voting Rights Act The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) is a state law in the state of California. It makes it easier for minority groups in California to prove that their votes are being diluted in "at-large" elections by expanding on the federal Voting ...
of 2001 (CVRA). After the California Superior Court of Stanislaus County declared the CVRA unconstitutional in favor of the City of
Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...
, plaintiffs Enrique Sanchez, Emma Pinedo and Salvador Vera appealed to the Fifth Appellate District of the Court of Appeal of California. Along with Kathay Feng from the organization California
Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...
, FairVote submitted an amicus curiae brief in favor of the plaintiffs. FairVote argued that winner-take-all at-large voting systems caused "vote dilutions in jurisdictions affected by racially polarized voting, even where minority voters cannot form a majority in a single member district." Supporting the CVRA, FairVote viewed the law requiring courts to "fashion effective remedies to cure vote dilution affecting smaller and dispersed minority populations." Asserting that the CVRA allows California to become more representative of the people, FairVote concluded that the CVRA was an important and constitutional piece of government reform. The Court of Appeal applied
rational basis review In U.S. constitutional law, rational basis review is the normal standard of review that courts apply when considering constitutional questions, including due process or equal protection questions under the Fifth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment ...
to CVRA and declared the law constitutional, reversing the lower court's decision.


''United States v. Village of Port Chester'' (2008)

In December 2006, the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
alleged that
Port Chester Port Chester is a village in the U.S. state of New York and the largest part of the town of Rye in Westchester County by population. At the 2010 U.S. census, the village of Port Chester had a population of 28,967 and was the fifth-most populou ...
's at-large system of electing its board of trustees violated Section 2 of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...
. The US government claimed that the at-large electoral system denied the Hispanic population "an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice." In ''United States v. Village of Port Chester'' (2008), US District Judge Stephen Robinson of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a decision that the Village's election system violated the Voting Rights Act and ordered remedial plans from all parties. The Defendants of the case, the Village of Port Chester, proposed cumulative voting as a remedy, which "allows citizens to cast multiple votes for a given candidate for a given seat." In 2007, the Brennan Center, representing FairVote as amicus curiae, submitted a brief supporting cumulative voting as a remedy, but also proposing another system known as "choice voting", a process of ranking candidates. FairVote argued that "cumulative and choice voting avoid the necessity for deliberately drawing districts along racial lines" and that a winner-take-all system would not allow the Hispanic minority population to gain representation. FairVote also argued that cumulative voting is appropriate under the Voting Rights Act, as it "ensures the equal principle of "one-person, one vote"", is race-neutral, and that it is supported by case law and history. On November 6, 2009, the Court did not accept choice voting but accepted Port Chester's remedy of cumulative voting. On June 16, 2010, Port Chester elected its first Latino to the Board of Trustees.


''Minnesota Voters Alliance v. City of Minneapolis'' (2009)

FairVote Minnesota is an independent ally of FairVote. FairVote Minnesota, siding with the
City of Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, served as intervenor-respondent in ''Minnesota Voters Alliance v. City of Minneapolis'', a case that was attested at the
Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court wa ...
. ''Minnesota Voters Alliance v. City of Minneapolis'' dealt with the constitutionality of IRV, which was adopted by the City of Minneapolis for its municipal elections. Minnesota Voters Alliance, a non-profit organization who served as the appellants, argued that the "method violates their right to vote, to associate for political purposes, and to equal protection under both the United States and the Minnesota Constitutions". Siding with the city, FairVote Minnesota stated that instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a form of RCV that allowed voters to rank multiple candidates on a single ballot. They argued that this form of voting had legitimate policy reasons such as simplifying the election process, saving money, increasing voter turn-out, ensuring more diverse representation, and promoting civil election campaigns. In their defense of the City of Minneapolis, FairVote argued that the appellants bore a "heavy burden of persuasion" because they brought a facial challenge to the constitutionality of IRV" and that "Minneapolis IRV is constitutional because it is supported by legitimate interests, imposes no burden on the right to vote, and applies to all voters". The Court affirmed the lower district court's ruling that IRV did not infringe on the appellants' constitutional rights, thus rejecting the Minnesota Voters Alliance's challenge to IRV. After the result, Jeanne Massey, executive director of FairVote Minnesota, applauded the Minnesota Supreme Court decision and stated that the Court "blazed a path that every community in our state can follow toward better elections and a stronger democracy" and that the decision was "a resounding endorsement of ranked choice voting".


''Jauregi v. City of Palmdale'' (2014)

Juan Jauregui, the plaintiff, filed a complaint in April 2012 alleging that
Palmdale Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...
's at-large method of electing members to its City Council resulted in vote dilution for Latino and African American residents. The lawsuit claimed that Palmdale's at-large method denied minority residents effective political participation and thus violated the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The case was brought up to Judge Mooney of the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of Los Angeles. In July 2013, Judge Mooney declared that the CVRA vested the court in implementing appropriate remedies in favor of the plaintiffs. The City of Palmdale immediately appealed the decision, reasoning that in 2001 Palmdale residents voted for an at-large election system. The case reached the California Court of Appeal in the Second Appellate District. In January 2014, FairVote submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs. FairVote argued that fair representation voting, unlike at-large systems, enhanced minority groups to elect at least one candidate of their choice. FairVote advocated for a number of alternative methods, such as ranked choice voting, single voting, and cumulative voting. However, the City of Palmdale opposed FairVote's participation, arguing that the amicus brief "threatens significant prejudice to the City" as it would continue to delay the certification of the city's November 2013 election. The California Court of Appeal has denied FairVote's application to file as amicus curiae.


References

{{authority control Electoral reform groups in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Maryland Organizations established in 1992 1992 establishments in Ohio