Panel Discussion: State-by-State Reforms to Make Elections More Accountable to Voters

voted
Visuals on Unsplash
Published: 06 Dec, 2023
1 min read

American Enterprise Institute's Kevin R Kosar recently hosted a panel to discuss why all segments of voters should support structural electoral reform efforts happening across the country. The conversation took place not long after Kosar published a detailed report on why conservatives, in particular, should support these efforts.

The panel featured Matt Germer, who is the associate director and resident election fellow for R Steet's Governance Program, former Ohio State Representative Gene Krebs, and Election Reformers Network Executive Director Kevin Johnson.

Each of the participants dived deep into notable updates to nonpartisan systemic reform nationwide, including:

A bipartisan bill in Wisconsin to enact Final Five Voting (a nonpartisan top-five primary with ranked choice voting [RCV] in the general election); Burlington, Vermont's upcoming mayoral race which will use RCV; and a potential 2024 ballot initiative in Idaho to open the state's partisan primary system.

But these examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

Cities, counties, and states across the country are changing the way public officials are elected to shift the incentive structure toward accountability to voters first. With voter dissatisfaction in governance at record-highs, it is important for voters to look at how we elect our representatives.

Check out the full panel discussion above. 

You Might Also Like

Trump sitting in the oval office with a piece of paper with a cannabis leaf on his desk.
Is Trump About to Outflank Democrats on Cannabis? Progressives Sound the Alarm
As President Donald Trump signals renewed interest in reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, a policy goal long championed by liberals and libertarians, the reaction among some partisan progressive advocates is not celebration, but concern....
08 Dec, 2025
-
5 min read
Malibu, California.
From the Palisades to Simi Valley, Independent Voters Poised to Decide the Fight to Replace Jacqui Irwin
The coastline that defines California’s mythology begins here. From Malibu’s winding cliffs to the leafy streets of Brentwood and Bel Air, through Topanga Canyon and into the valleys of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and Thousand Oaks, the 42nd Assembly District holds some of the most photographed, most coveted, and most challenged terrain in the state. ...
10 Dec, 2025
-
6 min read
Ranked choice voting
Ranked Choice for Every Voter? New Bill Would Transform Every Congressional Election by 2030
As voters brace for what is expected to be a chaotic and divisive midterm election cycle, U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (Md.), Don Beyer (Va.), and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (Vt.) have re-introduced legislation that would require ranked choice voting (RCV) for all congressional primaries and general elections beginning in 2030....
10 Dec, 2025
-
3 min read