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Few people would characterize the conservative South as enlightened when it comes to electoral politics. But the truth is that in some respects it is more advanced than many Democratic strongholds.

Voters registered as “Non-Affiliated” in Oregon now outnumber registered Republicans and Democrats, according to the latest voter registration data. Yet, despite being the largest voting group, these voters are denied access to critical taxpayer-funded primary elections. The latest voter registration data in Oregon shows voters registered “Non-Affiliated” just barely outnumber registered Democrats by nearly 3,000 voters. It may not seem like a huge separation, but these voters also make up over

The Oregon secretary of state has verified the initial sponsorship signatures for a proposed ballot measure that would guarantee all voters and candidates have the right to participate in the state’s publicly-funded primary elections. In the past, primary reform in Oregon has hit multiple roadblocks – particularly pushback from the two major parties. However, Oregon Open Primaries has introduced a unique initiative that would force the state to adopt a more equitable primary process. Oregon is

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished with permission from the publisher. ‍ For those seeking better elections and a more representative government in the United States, the coming year is a time of great promise and peril. We have a historic opportunity to advance comprehensive electoral reform, yet have much to lose if we fall short. I’ve led FairVote since it launched in 1992, grounded in a vision of lifting up structural reform nationally

Legislatures and redistricting commissions across the United States are in the process of drawing new maps for their legislative and congressional districts, and some states have already drawn new lines to give the party in power even more of an advantage while denying voters opportunities for meaningful representation. RepresentUs and the Princeton Gerrymandering Project have collaborated on a Redistricting Report Card so voters can get up-to-date information on new maps and what impact they w

California is now the largest state to permanently adopt universal mail-in ballot distribution. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the measure into law Monday. While it goes a long way to increase voter participation in the Golden State, public officials are still not doing everything they can to give all voters a level playing field in elections. California, like many of the other states that expanded access to mail-in ballots as an emergency change in 2020, saw record turnout in November. The state

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum and has been republished with permission from the publisher. ‍ While much of the country's election reform legislation has been rife with partisanship, Vermont is bucking that trend. Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed into law on Monday a measure that will automatically send Vermont's 495,000 registered voters a mail-in ballot ahead of statewide general elections. The General Assembly approved the legislation on a bipartisan basis

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum, and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Partisanship reached a boiling point in Texas over the weekend as Democratic lawmakers took a dramatic step to obstruct a GOP-backed bill that would impose severe limits on voting access. In the final hours of the legislative session, Democrats staged a dramatic walkout, leaving the state House without a quorum and therefore unable to hold a final vote on the

The Equal Vote Coalition announced Monday that a historic new bill has been introduced in the Oregon State House that would establish STAR (Score, Then Automatic Runoff) Voting as the default voting method in Oregon. Oregon would be the first state to adopt the voting method’s use. STAR Voting is different from alternative voting methods that have gained traction across the country, like ranked choice voting and approval voting. Voters can think of it as scoring candidates the way they would r

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Next year's redistricting landscape is, at best, a mixed bag for good-governance advocates. Although the mapmaking process has become fairer and less politicized in a handful of states over the past decade, partisan gerrymandering will still have a profound impact on representation across most of the country. Democrats had high hopes of taking back enough power