The Cure for Political Extremism in the US with Tom Charron Nov 8, 2022 Solutions From The Multiverse interviews one of the co-founders of Cal RCV, Tom Charron *Featuring Tom Charron from CalRCV GO VOTE. Politics in the US has gotten more and more extreme over the past few years. A complex mix of changes in class, laws, technology, and the media have created a witches' brew for political extremism. The January 6th insurrection and the recent assassination attempt on Nancy Pelosi underscore this new brand of violent political extremism. Rank Choice Voting (RCV) is one way many experts suggest we can slow down, stop, and even reverse this trend in extremism. RCV supporters also claim the voting rule change would eliminate "spoiler votes" and open up all elections to third-party candidates. To understand RCV more, in this episode of SFM, Scot and Braus interviewed Tom Charron the cofounder of CalRCV , the organization fighting for Rank Choice Voting in California. The solution this week is not RCV itself; instead, the gang explores some potential out-of-the-box ways to spread RCV across the state and the country. == Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts All News & Updates

Join City of Anitoch volunteers and supporters to help bring ranked choice voting to the City of Antioch elections. City of Antioch One of the most basic principles of democracy is majority rule, but guess what? Antioch does not have majority rule! Join City of Antioch volunteers and supporters of ranked choice voting and help bring RCV to our local elections Single-choice voting is breaking our country, our state, and our cities. It incentivizes negative campaigning that further divides us, reduces representation with low-turnout primaries and runoffs, and costs taxpayers millions in unnecessary election costs. Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is a simple but powerful improvement. RCV lets you rank candidates 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on instead of being forced to choose just one. If your first choice can’t win, your vote automatically transfers to your second choice. Let's work together to bring RCV to our local elections in the City of Antioch for various city and county elections! Good Get on the list No commitment — get emails (and texts, if you want) with upcoming events and action alerts. Subscribe Better Help fund our work Increase your impact! A financial commitment of any size significantly increases the weight of your support. Donate Now Best Meet Us & Get Involved Join an upcoming Zoom to learn more about RCV and how you can get involved (it's easy!). Join an Intro Meeting

Could ranked choice voting make Vallejo's City Council more representative? Sep 15, 2024 Ranked choice, also known as instant runoff voting, allows voters to rank candidates in order from their favorite to least preferred candidate. "Proponents of the system argue that it leads to a number of benefits for candidates and voters, including a reduction in negative campaigning. The idea is that candidates may be leery of attacking a voter’s first choice candidate because under ranked choice they still need to appeal to voters to mark them as a second or third preference. But the leading feature according to its proponents is that it tends to prevent what is known as “vote splitting,” or “the spoiler effect.” This is when two candidates that may be running on similar issues appeal to the same group of voters, or when a third party candidate draws votes away from one of two leading candidates, allowing the opposing candidate to prevail. According to Marcela Miranda-Caballero, executive director of the advocacy group California Ranked Choice Voting, in the ranked choice system, voters can feel more secure about voting for their favorite candidate without worrying about strategizing to make their vote count in order to prevent a candidate that they really don’t want from taking office." Read the full article at https://www.vallejosun.com/could-ranked-choice-voting-make-vallejos-city-council-more-representative/ All News & Updates

Ranked Choice Voting Promises To Change Elections. Here’s What To Know. Apr 12, 2023 Frustration with the polarization of our political system has helped ranked choice voting gain ground across the country over the past two decades. After the people of Redondo Beach became the third city in Southern California to adopt Ranked Choice Voting, The LAist reported on the basics of ranked choice voting, what we know about its effects on elections, and what it takes for a city or state to make the switch. Read the full article at https://laist.com/news/politics/ranked-choice-voting-promises-to-change-elections-heres-what-to-know All News & Updates

Some RCV Opponents Show Partisan Stripes Apr 3, 2024 Although entrenched interests on both sides of the political spectrum oppose RCV, election-deniers present a rising challenge to ranked-choice reforms. After the success of RCV in Alaska and Maine, interest in the reform has grown around the country. Nevada and Oregon will have referendums on RCV this year, and dozens of cities are considering adopting it. Bills to implement RCV have bipartisan support in Georgia, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and dozens of cities are already using RCV in local elections. But the movement for RCV is running into headwinds around the country, with five states banning any city or county government from adopting RCV, and at least six other states considering similar measures (see RCV Around the Nation above). The source of this opposition is not surprising: the same folks who have sown distrust in the 2020 presidential election are undermining RCV. Groups with Orwellian names like Honest Elections Project (HEP) and Election Integrity Network (EIN) are at the forefront of the backlash. HEP was founded by Leonard Leo, the largely unknown man behind the U.S. judiciary’s shift to the right. HEP Director Jason Snead authored “The Case Against Ranked-Choice Voting: How George Soros and Other Billionaires Use a ‘Dark Money’ Empire to Transform America.” In February, HEP testified against Wisconsin’s bipartisan RCV bill in committee hearings. EIN was also busy in Wisconsin, distributing anti-RCV talking points to MAGA activists. EIN activists have played key roles in driving grassroots opposition to bipartisan pro-RCV measures in Virginia, Georgia, and Illinois. Other right-wing organizations are also involved in the anti-RCV movement. The Heritage Foundation is holding grassroots events in Oklahoma, Georgia, and Arizona, and urging activists to pressure lawmakers to oppose RCV in Texas, Utah, and Georgia. Last year the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) put out a model bill banning RCV for state legislatures to copy. Turning Point Action got the Republican National Committee to adopt an anti-RCV resolution. Why have these groups all decided to attack RCV? Publicly they will criticize RCV because it is favored by progressive donors, particularly George Soros. They also claim that the process is so confusing that voters are disenfranchised: “RCV makes it harder to vote, risks longer lines at the polls, and discourages participation,” HEP’s Snead told Rolling Stone. In fact, post-election polls show that voters overwhelmingly understand and like the system . Privately, these right-wing leaders acknowledge that ranked choice voting threatens the MAGA political project. In June of 2023, Snead told Real America’s Voice network, “I think that their calculus is you change the dynamic of elections … make it harder for conservatives to get elected without that party primary and then of course you displace the parties themselves.” He clarified that he was referring to “outside and independent expenditure groups funded by folks like George Soros.” Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda told a party event in August 2023 that “the entire purpose of ranked choice voting is … force the candidates to run for the middle like they are in a general election, and then they will not take the positions that we need them to commit to.” Alaska’s 2022 elections, the first since voters narrowly adopted RCV in 2020, confirm these fears. In the Senate race, moderate Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski was re-elected despite Trump’s attempt to punish her for supporting his impeachment after January 6. Murkowski prevailed over the Trump-backed challenger by winning the second-round votes of the 10% who voted Democratic in the first round. Alaskans also elected Democrat Mary Peltola in an August special election and again in November when she gained enough second-round votes from voters who supported moderate Republican Nick Begich, who finished third to defeat MAGA candidate Sarah Palin. In 2022, 91% of Americans lived in heavily partisan districts, where the difference between the winner and losing party was more than 10%. Under this gerrymandered system, MAGA Republicans have only to win a plurality in the primary election before coasting through the general election. For example, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) won 36% percent of the vote in the 2016 primary and hasn’t faced a serious primary challenger since. (The same phenomenon applies to the left end of the political spectrum.) “It’s not really an issue of ‘honest elections’ or ‘election integrity,’” explains Rick Hasen, the Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA’s Law School. “It’s a debate about the best way to translate voters’ preferences into election winners…. the reason for the fear of ranked choice voting is that it could help elect more Republican moderates rather than more extreme Republicans.” This article was adapted from this piece at Documented . All News & Updates

Is Ranked Choice Voting Confusing? Or is it as easy as 1 * 2 * 3 ? Mar 15, 2024 (hint: it's really easy) As we’ve talked to folks in Santa Clara County, they sometimes ask if Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is confusing. The data and research does not back that up. In fact, when New York City first used RCV in an election in 2021, exit polls showed that 83% of voters ranked 2 or more candidates on their ballot, and 95% of voters said that they found the RCV ballot easy to complete regardless of age, race, education, income level, or language spoken. The NYC ballot was in 31 different languages! (For exit polls from other jurisdictions, see here . How about mistakes on the ballot? RCV has been used in elections around the world since the late 1800’s. The national data shows no statistically significant difference in mistakes on RCV ballots and non-RCV ballots. Voters of Santa Clara County are incredibly smart! We are not easily fooled by claiming RCV is “confusing”. It’s insulting to claim that the voters of Santa Clara County will be confused by RCV because we cannot rank our preferences. The Bay area is home to loyal baseball, basketball, football, soccer and hockey fans – of course we know how to determine “first, second, and third place”. Backed by data and research, RCV is a straightforward way to vote that brings out the best in the voters and the candidates. It’s TIME to adopt it here in Santa Clara County. All News & Updates

Douglas Schoen: America’s primary system needs reform Apr 27, 2023 Douglas Schoen recommends Ranked Choice Voting in op-ed "Ranked choice voting – which some states and localities have already adopted – would be a starting point. This is a more democratic and representative system because it allows voters to rank candidates in an election, rather than select only one, thereby ensuring that no candidate is able to win their party’s nomination without being ranked by a majority of voters. This system incentivizes consensus-building, discourages negative campaigns, and forces candidates to campaign by appealing to the broadest majority of voters, not just their base." Read the full op-ed at https://www.ocregister.com/2023/04/27/douglas-schoen-americas-primary-system-needs-reform/ All News & Updates

Find out how you can take action to make elections more fair, less divisive, and more representative across California. Become a Volunteer Fixing politics starts with Ranked Choice Voting. Getting RCV in more places starts with you. You can help our elected officials find more common ground to solve problems, respect the interests of all Americans, and practice democracy for the people. Volunteering with Cal RCV is a high-impact way for you to help improve our elections in the Golden State! Education and Outreach - Tabling or Canvassing This is our most effective and critical activity. Volunteers work in teams or individually. Sign up to do educational outreach events like tabling at a farmers market or canvassing in a local neighborhood. Don’t know how to canvass or table? No problem! We have online training and support to get you up to speed. Location(s): Time: Volunteer Team: Your Community 2+ hours/month Outreach I'm interested! Event Finder Research events and prime canvassing locations in your community and other communities so that we can maintain a calendar of dates/times/locations to host canvassing events. Location(s): Time: Volunteer Team: Online 2 hrs/month Outreach I'm interested! Volunteer Onboarder Call new volunteers to learn about what they love to do and how they would like to volunteers, then connect them with the best volunteer opportunities to fit their interests. Location(s): Time: Volunteer Team: Online 1 hr/week Outreach I'm interested! Media Volunteers Spread the Cal RCV word on social media or write letters to the editor to support ranked choice voting. Use educational materials from Cal RCV to create your posts and letters. Location(s): Time: Volunteer Team: Online 2 hours/month Communications I'm interested! Do you have special skills? Let us know. We love the many talents of our volunteers. (Admin skills, technical skills, presentation skills, fundraising skills, etc) Location(s): Time: Volunteer Team: Statewide Variable Variable I'm interested! Volunteer Opportunities NOT SURE WHERE TO START? Come to one of our intro meetings to learn more about R anked Choice Voting, our organization, and how you can get involved! RSVP for Intro Meeting Cal RCV Merch Order t-shirts and other Cal RCV-branded items to show your support and look spiffy when you're volunteering! Get Cal RCV Merch 1/1

Bay Area should embrace ranked-choice voting movement Nov 16, 2022 System strengthens the principle of majority rule and discourages negative campaigning The San Jose Mercury News Editorial Board writes: "Ranked-choice voting carries multiple advantages, especially in primary elections that yield low voter turnout and consistently hurt minority candidates running for office. It also gives voters greater say in who is elected. The current system works fine when only two candidates are on the ballot. But in an election with multiple candidates, which often occurs in a primary election, a candidate can win with only 20%-30 % of the vote. That means a majority of voters did not choose the winner. Too often that favors extremist candidates and/or candidates who engage in negative campaigning." Read the full article at: https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/16/editorial-ranked-choice-voting-santa-clara-county/ All News & Updates

The best thing California could do is cancel the election Nov 5, 2022 "We also could implement structural changes. Instead of running two redundant sets of elections under the state’s top two system, we could use ranked choice voting with instant runoffs in June, and determine winners in just one round." -- Joe Mathews Joe Mathews is a journalist, an Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation, and a contributing writer at the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy and coauthor of the book California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix it . Read the full article at: https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/05/mathews-the-best-thing-california-could-do-is-cancel-the-election/ All News & Updates

Playing Games With California's Top-Two Primary Mar 2, 2024 California’s top two primary system, while well-intentioned, is too easily manipulated. The March 4th primary ballot lets us select one of 27 candidates running for U.S. Senate (10 Republicans, 11 Democrats, and 6 other/none). The top two vote-getters in both U.S. and California Senate and House votes will go on to face each other in the November general election (The Presidential primary is still a party affair). Washington and Nebraska are the only other states to have this kind of top two primary, while Louisiana has its own unique variant. Californians began voting this way after we approved Proposition 14 in 2010 over the objection of leaders of all political parties. Minor party leaders didn’t want to lose the clout that comes with a line on the November ballot. The major political parties feared interference from the opposition in choosing a candidate to represent their party. But Gov. Schwarzenegger, nearing the end of his second term, was not beholden to party leaders. He promoted the top two primary as a way to reduce partisan division and promote centrist candidates: “We want to change the dysfunctional political system and we want to get rid of the paralysis and the partisan bickering.” But this system can have unintended consequences. In State Senate District 4, a rural Central Valley district sprawling between the outskirts of Fresno to the outskirts of Bakersfield, six Republicans were on the 2022 primary ballot. They split their votes, allowing two Democrats to compete for this typically Republican seat on the November ballot. It can also lead to political gamesmanship, as happened in then-Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign in 2018. Newsom ran ostensible opposition ads linking Republican John Cox with Donald Trump in an apparent effort to spur Trump supporters to the polls. (In 2022 Democrats did this in several races to promote the weaker Trump-aligned candidates and it generally paid off.) Here, though, Newsom apparently wanted to deny his Democratic rival, LA Mayor Antonio Villariagosa, the second spot on the November ballot. It worked. While Diane Feinstein faced another Democrat for the U.S. Senate, it was Newsom vs. Cox for Governor. And now it’s happening again, in the contentious battle between Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and others for California’s open Senate seat. Schiff and his allies, aiming to pick his opponent in the general election, have spent millions strategically criticizing Steve Garvey, the leading Republican candidate, which raises his profile among Republican voters. If Garvey finishes second in the top two primary, that will knock Porter out of the race, giving Schiff an almost-certain win in November. The incentives are clear: candidates have every reason to manipulate top two and pick their general election opponent. Let’s be clear: the motives behind the top two open primary were good, and in many ways, it is better than the system it replaced. But imagine if we advanced four or five candidates from the primary to the general election and used RCV to select the winner in each single-winner race? The much larger and more representative electorate in November would have more choice – and candidates would have no incentive to try to game the system and pick their one opponent. All News & Updates

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