Three things to think about this February 2nd
It’s not just those in the election reform world who are talking about the benefits of it; the news of its transformative impact on our government is creating chatter in newsrooms around the country and statehouses alike. The 2022 midterm elections illustrated that election reforms such as nonpartisan primaries and the “Alaska model” of voting, which pairs a nonpartisan primary with ranked choice voting, work as intended. The bottom line of these reforms is that they lead to a more representative government. Amidst the continued dysfunction of our government — say, what’s up with the debt ceiling? — ensuing, Americans on both sides of the aisle are seeking alternative solutions to the status quo.
Here are three things to consider this week:
Unite America’s executive director Nick Troiano spoke on MSNBC’s The 11th Hour last night to discuss how election reforms would get our elected representatives away from “performance theater” and more toward the “problem-solving” that most Americans want. What’s an example of the former? Well, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene asked a question during a hearing about government spending of pandemic funds … about a false claim of school funding to teach critical race theory. Troiano stated,
“I think many Americans will throw up their hands and say that [Congress] is dysfunctional. But we have to realize it's functioning in a way that we should expect because this is what our election system rewards.”
2. Election reform is those who say “yes, and”
Whether it’s the Virginia Republican party adopting ranked choice voting for its nomination contests or Alaska and Nevada voters lending majority support to nonpartisan primaries, election reform is for anyone who wants better choices and representation. And it’s not just about one idea, either.
That’s what sticks out about this Yahoo! News write-up of a paper published by the Democratic-aligned Center for American Progress. The paper itself outlines how reforms to our election system will fix the dysfunction in American politics and confront two fundamental problems with the U.S. electoral system: one, by addressing how electoral rules discourage problem-solving and reward conflict, and two, by addressing the ways that electoral rules impede representation. You may have heard people left, right, and center say that before.
But Yahoo! News’s Jon Ward picks up on something else: “The CAP paper does not endorse any one specific reform, but lists several as having promise, including ranked-choice voting, nonpartisan or open primaries such as the system adopted in Alaska recently, and multi-member congressional districts.”
We agree that there are many ways to fix our government's problems and avenues to help get us there. It’s all a matter of innovation and choice.
Check out the full report here.
Interest in the election reform movement is growing, and so, too, is our team at Unite America! We are seeking a full-time Press Director to handle media relations and be the organization’s first point of contact for fielding and routing press inquiries. The Press Director will also lead on drafting press releases and advisories, and help draft blog posts, newsletter content, and other external-facing copy as needed.
And we are seeking a Director of Data and Operations to join our Investor Relations team, which is working to build a first-of-its-kind, cross-partisan philanthropic community that will mobilize over $100M in new resources over 2023–2024 to scale the democracy reform movement. As the first hire in this position, this is a compelling opportunity for an enterprising and mission-driven individual to build out a new, critical function on an exciting and fast-growing team.
Stay up to date with opportunities to join our team on our careers page and be sure to explore Democracy Jobs for even more job opportunities in the Voters First movement.
