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Open primaries and ranked choice voting could be the future of elections in Washington, DC. The city’s Board of Elections unanimously ruled that a proposed measure that would adopt both reforms can be placed on the city’s 2024 ballot.

The 2024 presidential election cycle is quickly approaching. Already, the Republican Party is heated and making headlines. And while voters should expect a lot of attention to be on candidates like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, a big question lingers...

New York City held primary elections on Tuesday, June 27, for city council and other municipal offices. NYC primaries are unique compared to most primary elections in the US in that they use ranked choice voting ballots and while RCV advocates tout the benefits it has on city elections -- they’re benefits only party members can enjoy........... Ranked choice voting gives voters an opportunity to rank candidates in order of preference rather than marking a ballot for a single candidate. If no on

Arlington County, Virginia held its first ranked choice voting elections on Tuesday, June 20, during the Democratic primary for county board -- and many voters appear to approve of the new voting method. The Washington Post ran a headline two days ahead of the primary that read, "Virginia's first ranked choice voting election is vexing some Arlington voters." Yet, reports on election day show that the process was smooth for the majority of people. "Many Arlington Democratic voters spoke positi

A former member of Congress and two national reform groups have filed letters with the California Supreme Court supporting the Independent Voter Project’s (IVP) lawsuit that challenges the state’s cumbersome and confusing semi-closed presidential primary rules. Former US Rep. Tom Campbell, Open Primaries, and FairVote have asked the state's high court to give IVP -- and the individual plaintiffs signed onto the lawsuit -- a chance to lay out the evidence that the system unfairly burdens the vot

Six Republican candidates have launched campaigns for the 2024 presidential primary, and there are still over a dozen potential candidates that could enter the race. Citizen Data asked voters, “in such a crowded field would you like to rank your choices?” 61% of poll respondents said they were at least “somewhat interested” in the option, including the same percentage of Republican respondents. “Ranked choice voting (RCV) solves problems in presidential primaries – it’s no surprise that voters

It is no coincidence that as the nation witnesses an explosion in pro-voter reform successes, partisan state lawmakers across the country are trying to undermine citizen initiatives, and block nonpartisan primary reform and new voting methods designed to give people more choice. In 2023, governors in Idaho and South Dakota have signed laws that prohibit the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in their states. HB 598 in Montana, which seeks to do the same thing, has passed the legislature, while a

In that writing I spoke of how our elected representatives thrive on the red meat rhetoric they throw out to their base to score political points, rather than attempting to govern. Unfortunately, it is often much easier for them to make statements that generate a strong emotional response...

Update: A Senate bill to implement semi-open primaries passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote on Monday, February 20. Senate Bill 73 would allow unaffiliated voters to choose between a party ballot in taxpayer-funded primary elections. The bill now goes to the state House for consideration. Open primaries are once again before state lawmakers in New Mexico – a state where a quarter of registered voters are denied full and meaningful participation in elections. The bill went before the state Ho

Voters have expressed their desire to see systemic reform to how we elect our public officials. When asked what specific reforms they want in a recent poll, many said they would like to see a proportional representation system -- which would mean a complete election overhaul. What would proportional representation mean? Proportional representation is exactly how it sounds. An electoral district is not represented by a single seat, but multiple seats that are proportionally allocated among can