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Governor Signs Youth Registration Bill
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation which will allow all eligible 17 year olds to register to vote in California. The legislation, based on one of the Political Reform Program's signature reforms, was embraced by a broad coalition ranging from the California Association of Student Councils to the California chapter of the AARP. Allowing all 17 year olds to register will provide uniformity and consistency in election administration and will encourage our youth to develop a lifelong habit of civic engagement and voting.
East Bay Voters will use Instant Runoff Voting
Over the past few years, East Bay voters in the cities of Oakland and Berkeley overwhelmingly approved using Instant Runoff Voting for local elections. Both cities will begin using this election method, also known as Ranked Choice Voting, for the first time in 2010. The staff of the Alameda County Registrar of Voters has been working diligently with local and state election officials and community organizations to ensure a smooth roll-out of Ranked Choice Voting in plenty of time for next year’s elections.
California Assemblymember Ted Lieu on Why He Supports IRV
Instant Runoff Voting Advances Nationally
Instant Runoff Voting is a hot topic in the heartland. Minneapolis’ first election using ranked ballots went off without a hitch on Election Day. On that same day, voters in St. Paul approved a ballot question asking whether city voters should use Instant Runoff Voting to elect their mayor and city council. Outside of the Twin Cities, a number of other Minnesota communities are also actively looking at Instant Runoff Voting.
About This Program
Our political institutions -- from our noncompetitive, winner-take-all elections to our unrepresentative two-party system to the way we pay for political campaigns -- have created a crisis of confidence in our democracy. A more representative and responsive government is a prerequisite for building the political consensus necessary to address the nation’s most pressing problems. Working at both the national level and in California, the Political Reform Program promotes innovative political reforms -- such as instant runoff voting, proportional representation and free air time -- designed to re-engage and empower the alienated majority of the American electorate.
A more-detailed program description is available here.
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Staff
Program Staff
- Steven Hill
Director, Political Reform Program - Gautam Dutta
Deputy Director, Political Reform Program - Blair Bobier
Deputy Director, Political Reform Program - Amanda Fowler
Intern, Political Reform Program
Consequences of the Top Two Primary
Steven Hill, Director of New America's Political Reform Program, examines the consequences of the Top Two primary in an opinion piece published in the Sacramento Bee. Read the full piece here.
Sac Bee Columnist Plugs New America Plan
Dan Walters, one of California's best-known political columnists, gave a plug to Mark Paul and Micah Weinberg's plan for proportional representation as a way to deal with the state's fiscal crisis. Read the column here.
Study: Communities of Color Benefit from IRV
The New America Foundation study on Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) and Its Impact on Communities of Color, analyzes IRV elections from other American cities, based on previous reports from FairVote, San Francisco State University, Asian Law Caucus and others.
The study shows that racial and ethnic minorities overwhelmingly understand IRV and use ranked ballots effectively. In San Francisco, voter turnout in socio-economically diverse neighborhoods has increased dramatically. The study also analyzes the effectiveness of past IRV educational campaigns and provides pointers for the City of Los Angeles to conduct its own voter outreach.
"Our study shows that communities of color take full advantage of IRV. They not only use ranked ballots effectively, but also turn out in record numbers -- giving them a greater voice in the political process," said Monika Kulma of the New America Foundation "The study shows that IRV will benefit all residents of Los Angeles," she added.
Click here for more on the latest on the campaign for IRV in LA.
10 Steps to Repair American Democracy
Choiceless elections. Suspicious voting equipment. Partisan election officials. Superficial political debate. Unresponsive government. Author Steven Hill, who directs New America's Political Reform Program, says that American democracy has been working about as well as the levees around New Orleans. Yet most Americans don’t know what to do about it.
Here, finally, is the plan -- 10 Steps to Repair American Democracy. Drawing upon 20 years of scholarship, advocacy, and two previous books, Hill offers a "onestop" shopping guide to what's broken about our democracy, and what Americans can do to repair it. Click here for more on this book, or here to see video from Hill's book event in Washington, D.C.
