Yang Speaks With FairVote's CEO About the Future of Ranked Choice Voting

Sumpter and Yang
Shawn GriffithsShawn Griffiths
Published: 10 Jun, 2024
1 min read

It goes without saying that most voters are dissatisfied with the state of US politics. Hyper-polarization and division are at their worst levels in modern history and nothing is getting done to actually help the American people.

As a result, many voters don't feel represented in a system that was founded on the declaration of "no taxation without representation."

Over the last decade, a voter revolution has grown to change the way we elect our public officials. Former presidential candidate and Forward Party Co-Founder Andrew Yang is a part of this movement, as is Meredith Sumpter, the new CEO of FairVote.

Yang sat down with Sumpter in the latest episode of his podcast, Forward. The two discuss how ranked choice voting (RCV), in particular, is instrumental to ending political gridlock and empowering voters. 

RCV is the fastest growing voting reform in the US, and is increasingly being combined with nonpartisan primaries as a solution to an electoral system that offers little choice, zero competition, and no accountability. 

Sumpter lays out the foreseeable future for RCV and what it means for elections in the US.  Be sure to check out the full conversation above and read IVN's profile piece on FairVote's new CEO

You Might Also Like

soldiers boarding a plane.
Left Behind: How Runoff Elections Disenfranchise Military and Overseas Voters -- And How We Can Fix It
When Americans serve overseas, they should never have to wonder whether their vote will count. Yet for thousands of service members and U.S. citizens abroad, the very structure of our elections makes that impossible -- especially when it comes to runoff elections....
16 Sep, 2025
-
4 min read
How It Really Works Voter Rights
How It Really Works: Does Your Vote Even Matter?
Imagine showing up to vote in November, proud that you are doing your civic duty, only to learn that the real contest happened six months ago without you. The winner was decided in a low-turnout primary while you were busy living your life. This is not a conspiracy. It is how the system was built. ...
10 Sep, 2025
-
12 min read
Voters v. The Legislature: Who Will Decide the Fate of Ranked Choice Voting in Michigan?
Voters v. The Legislature: Who Will Decide the Fate of Ranked Choice Voting in Michigan?
Rank MI Vote is gathering petition signatures for an amendment to the Michigan constitution that – if approved by voters – will allow voters who cast a ballot for president, Congress, governor, and more to use ranked choice voting instead of marking just a single candidate....
08 Sep, 2025
-
4 min read
Proposition 50 voter guide
California Prop 50: Partisan Power Play or Necessary Counterpunch?
November 4 marks a special election for what has become the most controversial ballot measure in California in recent memory: Proposition 50, which would circumvent congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission for a legislative-drawn map....
01 Oct, 2025
-
9 min read
court gavel.
Virtual Discussion: The Fight for Equal Independent Voting Rights Makes it to SCOTUS
Every major voting rights movement in U.S. history – whether successful or not – has intertwined with landmark litigation. This was the case for women’s suffrage. It was the case for civil rights. And it is the case in the ongoing effort to protect the right of all voters to have equal participation in taxpayer-funded elections – something millions of independent voters are denied across the U.S....
29 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read
Supreme Court building
SCOTUS Considers Challenge to Closed Primaries -- Here's Why It Is Such a Big Deal
In a dramatic step forward for litigation challenging closed primaries, the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated they are going to conference to discuss whether to grant a writ of certiorari to Polelle v. Florida Secretary of State; a case challenging Florida's closed primaries that Open Primaries has supported since its inception....
26 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read