Election Reform covers reforms like open and closed primaries, ranked choice voting, campaign finance, redistricting, and others that affect the quality of our representative democracy.
Election Reform
The Virginia Senate approved a bill Monday that would expand the authority of local governments to conduct elections using ranked choice voting (RCV). The bill (SB1009) grants cities, counties, and towns the ability to implement RCV for all elections.
Election Reform
In late 2024, the Herbert Institute at Utah Valley University released two reports on Utah’s ranked choice voting (RCV) pilot program. In the reports, Professors Alan Parry and John Kidd and co-authors Michael Erickson and Addison Stott capture the high level of support for RCV among Utah voters, as
Election Reform
This morning, KIRO News Radio reporter Matt Markovich had exciting news for political reformers: Washington lawmakers have introduced and held their first public hearing on House Bill 1448, which allows local governments across the state to adopt ranked choice voting (RCV).
Opinion
Ballotpedia reports this week that in 2026, Alaska’s independent voters will have the chance to solidify their role as election reform pioneers by voting on two initiatives.
Election Reform
The Chamberlain Project, an organization I co-founded with Peter Ackerman a decade ago, has been dissolved. The Chamberlain Boards have voted to combine all of Chamberlain’s associated entities, including Americans Elect, Level the Playing Field, the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, and Citizens
Election Reform
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt sat down with former RNC chair and MSNBC commentator Michael Steele to talk about the difference between the partisan politics in DC versus the more pragmatic outcomes at the local level.
Election Reform
Gallup has released its annual look back at what party affiliation looked like in the previous year. What it found was independent ID remained steady at a record-high 43% from 2023 to 2024.
Election Reform
Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore last week introduced a resolution in support of a constitutional amendment designed to restore states' authority to regulate campaign finance laws. The announcement came just days before the anniversary of the infamous Citizens United Supreme Court ruling.
Opinion
Independent voters showcased how critical of a voting bloc they were in the 2024 elections. What's more, they showed that despite the claim that they are "party leaners," they were not committed to candidates of a single party.
Election Reform
A March hearing has been set in the Maryland House of Delegates for a bill that requires special elections if a state lawmaker is appointed to their seat in the first half of their term.
Election Reform
Monday marked the kickoff of the 2025 legislative session in the Iowa General Assembly. However, several bills had already been prefilled for consideration. Among them: a ranked choice voting ban.
Election Reform
Idaho lawmakers are still fuming that citizen-led groups tried to change the way the state elects its lawmakers. The 2024 initiative failed, but now a bill in the legislature would make it harder for any ballot proposition to pass.