Category: news

Color ballots going into ballot box
Redondo Beach Voters Say Ranked Choice Voting is Simple, Fair, and Easy
Redondo Beach used ranked choice voting (RCV) for the first time on March 4 during its municipal elections and according to new data from Lake Research Partners, voters liked it.
12 Mar, 2025
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1 min read
US Rep Thomas Massie
'Mr. No' Thomas Massie Threatened with Primary Challenge over Funding Stance
The US House was able to pass a continuing resolution in a party-line vote Tuesday to set up another government funding fight in six months and avoid a government shutdown.
12 Mar, 2025
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4 min read
Man voting.
Maine Lawmakers Vote to Protect RCV Counting Process, Which Generates Results in 'One Minute'
On Monday, Maine's Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted 3-7 against restoring batch elimination to the ranked choice voting (RCV) system through LD 656 (HP 424), the title of which claims it will save taxpayers money, but the secretary of state says is unnecessary. 
11 Mar, 2025
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1 min read
Vote here signs outside a building.
To Avoid Confusion, Should RCV Just Be Called Instant Runoff Elections?
In discussions with an elderly voter in Colorado about Proposition 131, the unsuccessful 2024 ballot measure to create a nonpartisan primary with ranked choice voting (RCV), in the general election, we learned something important. This individual had voted against Proposition 131, casting his mail ballot on the day he received it. A week later, he received a campaign ad mailer that Colorado’s governor and Denver’s mayor had endorsed Proposition 131, which may have influenced his decision.
11 Mar, 2025
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5 min read
Sky view of the US capitol building.
Democracy Expert Larry Diamond Warns of Growing Culture of SuperPAC Intimidation in Congress
In his new regular column, Diamond on Democracy, democracy scholar Larry Diamond, acknowledges that “[h]aving won the presidency fair and square, Donald Trump has earned the right to propose, and in many cases to implement, radical new policy directions.” 
11 Mar, 2025
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3 min read
Canada flag
Canada's Next Prime Minister Was Chosen Using Ranked Choice Voting
On March 9, the Liberal Party of Canada held an election to determine who will lead the party using a reform growing in popularity in cities across the US: ranked choice voting.  The winner of that election: Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney.
10 Mar, 2025
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2 min read
Chuck Todd
Chuck Todd to Discuss Advancing Reform in a World Without Trust
On Tuesday, March 18, the nonprofit reform group Open Primaries will host an online virtual discussion featuring a legendary figure in journalism: Chuck Todd, who moderated NBC's Meet the Press for nearly 10 years.
10 Mar, 2025
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1 min read
Donald Trump at CPAC.
Is Donald Trump Really All That Unprecedented?
Donald Trump's address to Congress last week is the latest in a string of highly partisan moves designed to please his base and needle his opponents.
10 Mar, 2025
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1 min read
Symbols for both parties on elevated positions.
A Tale of Two Parties: Democrats Are from Mars, Republicans Are from Venus
As I think about Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Donald Trump and the response of Senator Elissa Slotkin from Michigan—a former CIA analyst and a rising star in the Democratic Party—I am reminded of the book “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” by John Gray published in 1992.
06 Mar, 2025
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5 min read
Symbols of both parties on a scale.
Research Shows Congress Is Getting Younger, But No Less Divided
Pew Research Center published 7 facts this week about the changing face of Congress in the 119th session. On top of an increase in diversity, the research center found Congress is also slightly younger.
05 Mar, 2025
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3 min read