Alternative Voting Methods in the News

Thanks to Richard Winger of Ballot Access News for this post.

Paul Johnson, a leader in the 2012 effort to pass a top-two initiative in Arizona, now is working on a new initiative that would remove party labels from the ballot for all office except President.

He hasn’t drafted the measure yet, but already has received $100,000 from the organization called Open Primaries,

Winger says there are far better alternatives, such as using Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), or possibly Approval Voting, in the General Election, and simply eliminating the primary or he could back an initiative for a blanket primary, which would be constitutional if the law said that its use is voluntary, and parties that don’t want a blanket primary could instead nominate by convention at their own expense.

I have been talking about these idea for awhile.

Open Primaries just put out "The Myth of the Red State, Policy over Party in the Nebraska State Capitol" by Jeremy Gruber.

The United States Congress is set up to incentivize partisanship and divisiveness. The Nebraska State Legislature is set up to incentivize cooperation and inclusion.

Nebraska’s State Legislature is unicameral and nonpartisan. Its members are elected via a nonpartisan “top two” primary system. The legislature is generally free of the type of strong-arm partisan politics that characterize political activity in Congress and most State Legislatures. Although 71% of Nebraska Representatives are registered members of the Republican Party, nonpartisan coalitions are commonplace and the Legislature has engaged a wide range of “progressive” issues, from abolishing the death penalty to immigration reform.

The Nebraskan nonpartisan system offers a model of effective and transparent government, voter inclusion, and social innovation for both issue advocates and political reformers across the country.

CLICK HERE to read the 22 page report.











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker