Alaska: America is waking up to the possibility that election reforms like Final Five Voting (rank choice voting + open primaries) can cure our very sick political system. And Alaska, the Last Frontier state, just proved it.
We explained it here in our conversation with Country 1st founder Rep. Adam Kinzinger (we explain Final Five Voting at ~15 minutes and dive into the Alaska case study at ~19 minutes). Watch here:
Nevada voters will have the opportunity to vote for “Question 3”, a similar Final Five Voting model on November 8th. Rank Choice Voting is being considered in nearly half of US States. This movement could go from sleepy to mainstream, quickly.
Why it Matters?: Americans know our political system is broken, but they’re not clear on the solution. The Alaska model creates a path for other states to follow.
But… who does it actually help? Both the Republican Party and Democratic Party oppose these efforts, as well as support these efforts, in different markets. Who it helps are candidates that have broad appeal. Who it hurts are candidates with narrow appeal.
…in Alaska you’re already witnessing cross-over appeals and collaboration as candidates try to move beyond their ideological base to appeal more broadly. They act differently (more professional, more collaborative, less negative), because that’s how they win their elections. That’s the whole point of the reforms.
While Democrat Mary Peltola won the House seat, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski lead the Senate primary with 45% of the vote vs. 6.8% for Senate Democratic candidate Patricia Chesboro. So both Republicans and Democrats can & are winning in the Alaska model. The punchline: Alaska voters think for themselves and are choosing candidates over party labels.
The rumor… will Democrats start endorsing Republicans and vice versa in places like Alaska in order to demonstrate cross-over appeal? That will likely excite most voters and frustrate some of the partisan power brokers.
Leaders
Join us. We need your voice and credibility in this movement. Just take a few minutes and sign up here. We have about 30 states that are represented by VPI leaders but want to be in all 50.
Check out this Op-Ed by Henry Rowland, our leader in Connecticut or this article featuring Mike Cantwell leading reform efforts in Arlington, VA. This is what lending your voice looks like. Oh and did we mention Rocky Bleier, a Pittsburgh Steelers legend and Vietnam veteran has also joined the fight?
Also big shout out to our volunteers who helped facilitate conversations on the Country 1st call: Mike Cantwell (VA), Isaac Riddle (VA), Sean Jackson (MI), Glomani Bravo-Lopez(NY), Mark Pfost (WI), Kevin Miller (WI), Ian Covill (CT), Ron Sanchez (AZ), Tiahna Pantovich (MD)
A preview into our upcoming video series: Re-formation - Cover Down
News from the States
Here’s a snap from our last event in Silicon Valley.
Rally to Repeal Closed Primaries We'll be in eastern PA for a joint event with Ballot PA. Join us for camaraderie and thoughtful discussion! PA Vets, Join the effort in your state here: https://www.ballotpa.org/vets
Resources
The American Democracy Roadmap
Ranked Choice Voting is Gaining Steam Across the Nation (8.26.22) - Democracy SoS (Rob Ritchie, Founder of FairVote.org) Newsweek: Americans Are Increasingly Fearful That Democracy Will Collapse. https://www.newsweek.com/americans-are-increasingly-fearful-that-democracy-will-collapse-joe-biden-1738963
Book Recommendations
We love American Schism, by former CEO turned democracy reform advocate David Seth Radwell, The Politics Industry by Katherine Gehl & Michael Porter, and Washington’s Farewell by John Avalon (spoiler: Washington warned us we’d be where we are today). Onward - no time to waste, Todd, Eric, Dan and the team
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