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Posts by Election Reformers Network

Webinar: How Can We Take Partisanship out of Election Administration?

Election Reformers Network
With partisan loyalists aiming to control election administration, it's clear that America's antiquated system of politically affiliated election officials needs reform. Register for this expert-led discussion of new ideas that can ensure election leaders are independent, accountable, and professional. This event's speakers include: Kevin Johnson, Executive Director, Election Reformers Network; Sr. Advisor, The Carter Center...

After Capitol Riot, Can America Still Promote Democracy Abroad — And At Home?

Election Reformers Network

Originally published in Forbes | January 18, 2021 By Sebastien Roblin Since the 1980s, promoting democracy has remained a basic tenet of U.S. foreign policy, one supported by a network of partner non-governmental organizations and firms. And that stance, despite the persistence of certain infamous exceptions, has generally been maintained for decades with bipartisan support….

Carnegie: What Washington Can Learn About Elections—From Abroad

Election Reformers Network

This post appeared on The Carnegie Endowment website. BY ASHLEY QUARCOO, THOMAS CAROTHERS Competitive elections may be a hallmark of democracy, but in severely polarized political contexts they can exacerbate tensions that end up ripping apart democratic norms and institutions. They can trigger unfounded accusations of fraud, fuel claims of an election that has been stolen,…

FairVote’s Electoral Systems 101

Election Reformers Network

This post originally appeared on FairVote’s website. Electoral Systems 101 There are two main families of electoral systems in the world: proportional and winner-take-all. All single-winner systems are, by definition, winner-take-all. Multi-winner systems may be proportional or winner-take all. Single-winner systems vs Multi-winner systems Sometimes it makes sense to elect just one person. For example, a…

Brennan Center: Automatic Voter Registration, a Summary

Election Reformers Network

This post originally appeared on The Brennan Center website. Automatic voter registration (AVR) is an innovative policy that streamlines the way Americans register to vote. AVR makes two simple, yet transformative, changes to the way our country has traditionally registered voters.  First, AVR makes voter registration “opt-out” instead of “opt-in”—eligible citizens who interact with government agencies…

Vox: Are there reforms that can prevent gerrymandering?

Election Reformers Network

This post originally appeared on the Vox website. By Andrew Prokop The main reason for partisan gerrymandering in the US is that in most states, redistricting is handled by self-interested politicians in state legislatures. The most commonly proposed reform would take gerrymandering out of politicians’ hands entirely, and let an independent nonpartisan commission handle the job. Several…

A Warning From Europe: The Worst Is Yet to Come

Election Reformers Network

This story originally appeared in The Atlantic’s October 2018 issue. Story by Anne Applebaum On December 31, 1999, we threw a party. It was the end of one millennium and the start of a new one; people very much wanted to celebrate, preferably somewhere exotic. Our party fulfilled that criterion. We held it at Chobielin, the manor house…

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