"Generation Why Not" Takes on Electoral Reform

Kicking off the FairVote Awards in New York City

On April 11th, FairVote held its inaugural FairVote Awards in New York City. It was truly a lovely evening, with some 230 guests and a sweeping view of the Hudson. This is from my opening remarks.

Tonight is truly a special one. It’s testimony to what our reform movement has become and our momentum toward sweeping structural change of our election rules. It’s particularly special to lift up tonight’s honorees Andrew Yang, Katrina vanden Heuvel and Kathryn Murdoch. I couldn’t think of three more deserving leaders and change agents so worthy of your awards tonight. Thanks to all of you. 

Let me go back to the beginning - briefly! My wife Cynthia Terrell and I found common purpose with a small band of idealistic visionaries - like Howie Fain and Hendrik Herzberg, both here tonight –  who were ready to dream big as we launched FairVote. It was 1992, and I was 29 years old. For those counting, that puts me before Generations X, Y and Z…. Let’s call it “Generation Why Not.” 

I was in Berlin just days after East Germans broke through the Wall and triggered the fall of the Soviet Union. I’d witnessed an ailing Nelson Mandela be released from jail – and then lead South Africa to its first democratic elections, grounded in full proportional representation. At home, I’d lived with my father Dave Richie as in the course of a decade he transformed a backwater National Park Service project into one of the largest initiatives in Park Service history – one that quadrupled the miles of the Appalachian Trail protected for future generations. When change is needed, don’t tell a member of Generation Why Not that it can’t be done.

In 1990 I devoted a whole issue of an environmental newsletter to the challenge of climate change. My search for getting to the core of what was needed led me to voting as an unrealized tool for collective voice and action. Electoral reform could be the lever to change the world, I realized. As FairVote’s founders came together with a fervent belief that our country could do so much more to create a healthy democracy for all, many dismissed the idea of changing winner-take-all voting as quixotic – that we might not last a year. But what defined FairVote from the start was that question: Why not? Why not seek the big changes that our times demand and find tangible ways to move toward them?

If barely two-thirds of Americans were registered to vote, why not aspire to accurate rolls with every eligible voter registered? Thinking big, but acting pragmatically, our resulting policy innovations catalyzed major progress for automatic voter registration in dozens of states. We brought the same approach of getting to the core root of hard electoral reform questions when sparking movements for major changes to presidential elections and gerrymandering.

What has centered FairVote’s work through thick and thin has been relentless focus on what we’re best known for - the way electoral rules translate our votes into power. When you go to vote, and there are more than two choices, why not give the voter the power to do more than tick a single box? Why not open the ballot to the freedom of ranking candidates – to ranked choice voting, that holds the promise of elections providing greater choices, stronger voices, and fair elections for all? And let’s go further: Why not take that same insight about the power of offering more than a single choice to enable Americans to have more than a single representative in the “people’s house” - to provide all voters with real chances to elect someone no matter where they live? Why not create electoral incentives for our leaders to truly represent us - and take on and solve our era’s daunting challenges - by passing the Fair Representation Act?

To be sure, the journey to make ranked choice voting the national norm and the Fair Representation Act the law of the land has taken time. My 29-year old self of 1992 would be appalled by the barriers we’ve faced – of antiquated voting equipment, fearful officeholders, and sheer institutional inertia. But my 50-year-old self of 2012 would be thrilled. Two states now use ranked choice voting for their presidential and congressional elections. More than 50 cities just used ranked choice voting– and yes folks, that includes right here in New York.

And let me be clear. We’re just getting started. Our growing reform coalition is truly thrilling. Success depends on people working as allies who might disagree on most everything else. That means conservatives, liberals, and moderates finding common purpose in winning electoral reforms that are right for our nation - people like our former board chair and independent presidential candidate John Anderson, and the Libertarians, Greens, Democrats and Republicans we work with every day in support of ranked choice voting as a tool to end the “spoiler wars.”.

It means having some reformers focus on big ballot measure campaigns that can change congressional elections overnight – as could happen this year in Nevada and Missouri. It mean others –  like our great team at FairVote, with our eyes on the ultimate prize of a national win in Congress - focused on winning and sustaining ranked choice voting through building coalitions and finding legislative allies in city, state and national government — with victories for RCV to replace local runoffs and handle crowded primaries being valuable in themselves while building the foundation for sweeping national change.

Make no mistake. It takes all of us. With this growing chorus of allies, let’s all become part of Generation Why Not and get it done.

By 2024, why not have a dozen states use ranked choice voting in primary or general elections for president? 

By 2025, why not have 500 cities across America use ranked choice voting?

By 2030, why not expect Americans to define “voting” as “ranking” - everywhere? Why not pass the Fair Representation Act in Congress so that every voter, in every election, has the power to join with like-minded Americans to define their own representation -- no more “elections only decided in the primary”.... no more shaming of third parties, no more funhouse mirror representation of America. Why not have the left, center and right of every corner of our nation come into Congress to help decide our future, with new electoral incentives to do what’s right by voters and needed for the world? Why not indeed?

As I stand on this stage, looking out into a hall filled with friends, allies, family, and people who collectively have the power to do so much, I feel deep gratitude - and great determination and hope. Let’s transform our elections… together.

Rob Richie @Rob_Richie