Search query: alabama

Being Mike Bloomberg (Presidential Candidate?)
Being Mike Bloomberg (Presidential Candidate?)
I rarely give advice when it is unsolicited. But when you know someone, and you’ve had a history with them, and when the stakes are high and people are asking what you think, you make an exception. Thus, I’ve decided to offer some to Mike Bloomberg, who says he is considering a Democratic Party primary run for the presidency. I consider Mike a friend, whose campaigns for mayor of New York I helped to engineer—including running the Independence Party segment of his three mayoral bids. He and I (
13 Nov, 2019
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5 min read
2019 Unrig Summit Celebrates Historic Victories Over Two-Party Duopoly
2019 Unrig Summit Celebrates Historic Victories Over Two-Party Duopoly
A Roadmap to A Better Democracy By: Wes Messamore Reform activists from around the country gathered in the Country Music Capital of the World –– Nashville, Tennessee –– over the last weekend in March to celebrate an absolute tidal wave of policy victories in 2018; listen to inspirational speeches; share and learn the nuts and bolts of policy reform; and even to air fierce differences of opinion over the best way to reform elections in America and over other areas of public policy. How they buz
08 Apr, 2019
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17 min read
Louisiana Statewide Race Decided by 17% of Voters, But There Is an “Instant” Solution
Louisiana Statewide Race Decided by 17% of Voters, But There Is an “Instant” Solution
Louisiana held a special election for secretary of state in December, since no candidate got over 50% of the vote on Election Day. Yet, despite the fact that over 50% of registered voters turned out in the November election, only 17% turned out in December. FairVote Executive Director Rob Richie submitted a letter to the letter to The Advocate recently, explaining how in a society that desires instant results -- "from Instant Pots to Instagram" -- we don't get that in states like Louisiana, "wh
15 Jan, 2019
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2 min read
Louisiana Statewide Race Decided by 17% of Voters, But There Is an "Instant" Solution
Louisiana Statewide Race Decided by 17% of Voters, But There Is an "Instant" Solution
Louisiana held a special election for secretary of state in December, since no candidate got over 50% of the vote on Election Day. Yet, despite the fact that over 50% of registered voters turned out in the November election, only 17% turned out in December. FairVote Executive Director Rob Richie submitted a letter to the letter to The Advocate recently, explaining how in a society that desires instant results -- "from Instant Pots to Instagram" -- we don't get that in states like Louisiana, "wh
15 Jan, 2019
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2 min read
The Libertarian Party 2020 Presidential Ticket Shortlist
The Libertarian Party 2020 Presidential Ticket Shortlist
Reason's Matt Welch says it well: "Ever since election night of 2016, it has been clear that the Libertarian Party, through all its fits and starts over the decades, has managed to create a uniquely attractive prize: likely ballot access in all 50 states for a presidential candidate at a time of unusual major-party upheaval and discontent. All this for the low, low price of wooing fewer than 1,000 delegates at the 2020 national convention." Here's a short list of 2020 possibilities: Mitt Romn
10 Dec, 2018
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4 min read
How Ranked Choice Voting Survives the "One Person, One Vote" Challenge
How Ranked Choice Voting Survives the "One Person, One Vote" Challenge
SAN DIEGO, CALIF - One of the most prominent arguments against ranked choice voting, outside its complexity, is that voters end up getting multiple votes, so it must violate the constitutional precedent of "one person, one vote." The problem with this argument is a fundamental misunderstanding of ranked choice voting and how it works. Voters don't get multiple votes. They only get a single vote that counts toward the results. First, Some Background The legal precedent of "one person, one vot
04 Dec, 2018
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5 min read
Former US Rep: Time for Florida to Lead on Nonpartisan Open Primaries
Former US Rep: Time for Florida to Lead on Nonpartisan Open Primaries
Contrary to Florida’s infamous reputation for election snafus, the voters in the Sunshine State have in many ways led the nation on issues of electoral reform. Floridians have voted many times to improve the rules, level the playing field, and remove barriers to participation. In the 1900s, voters approved ballot measures to enact term limits and remove burdensome petitioning requirements for independent and third-party candidates. More recently, they approved gerrymandering reform. On Tuesday,
28 Nov, 2018
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4 min read
AL Secretary of State John Merrill: "Pull That Elephant Tail, Vote All Republicans"
AL Secretary of State John Merrill: "Pull That Elephant Tail, Vote All Republicans"
 It's not often a Secretary of State so blatantly endorses one of the two major parties, but that's the midterm mania in Alabama. Secretary of State John Merrill has certainly raised eyebrows in the Heart of Dixie with his ringing endorsement of the GOP, in fact, Merrill begs voters to go "all red" on midterm Tuesday. In the video posted above, Merrill i
01 Nov, 2018
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1 min read
Here They Are: Winners of the 2018 Civvys
Here They Are: Winners of the 2018 Civvys
As the midterm elections swiftly approach, the heat is on for voters to make big decisions about the future of our nation. In an era of media partisanship and political gridlock, voters face a tough time sifting through the information to come to terms with what is true and what is not. The 2018 American Civic Collaboration Awards have recognized organizations which represent excellence in elevating democracy and civic engagement through collaboration and with measurable results to back up the
23 Oct, 2018
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5 min read
Safer Roads, Bigger Privacy Concerns: A Primer on Self-Driving Cars and Transportation Policy
Safer Roads, Bigger Privacy Concerns: A Primer on Self-Driving Cars and Transportation Policy
I. The State of Self-Driving Car Technology and The Possibilities In the 1990 film, Total Recall (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone), the protagonist played by the now former governor of California hails a self-driving car with a humanoid, robotic attendant sitting where a human driver would. What makes the surreal scene eerily prophetic is how Schwarzenegger asks the AI cab driver questions like one might ask Alexa, Siri, or Google's voice assistant, and the "Johnny Cab" sasses
24 Sep, 2018
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5 min read