The Independent View: The Equal Vote Coalition

The Equal Vote Coalition consists of citizens and organizations committed to creating full equality in the voting franchise.

The Founding Vision of Equality in the Vote

The earliest Supreme Court reference defining the principle of "one person, one vote" is Gray v. Sanders, where the Court unequivocally concluded:

"The conception of political equality from the Declaration of Independence, to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, to the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and Nineteenth Amendments can mean only one thing-one person, one vote."

This language of equality flowed through the opinion:

"Once the geographical unit for which a representative is to be chosen is designated, all who participate in the election are to have an equal vote -- whatever their race, whatever their sex, whatever their occupation, whatever their income, and wherever their home may be in that geographical unit. This is required by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The concept of 'we the people' under the Constitution visualizes no preferred class of voters, but equality among those who meet the basic qualifications."

The Equal Vote Campaign purpose is to adjust the mechanism of voting itself to address clear vote weight inequalities in the franchise: the limitation of a single choice in elections with more than two candidates and the segregation of voters and candidates by major party (or not) in the first (primary) election stage.

This effort grew out of the upcoming Oregon election with a Top-Two Primary ballot measure.

Brad Fenstermacher of the ‎Mayday PAC writes:

There's something really interesting happening in Oregon right now. There's a ballot measure that could change the way elections work and could have a profound effect on campaign finances in a very different way. Through redesign of the election process itself, this measure proposes to lessen the advantage gained from large financial war chests. It's a bit of a long read but a really interesting one. Definitely something to watch in the coming months and perhaps an idea worth spreading.

CLICK HERE for more information about The Equal Vote Coalition.