The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 27, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Spoiler alert:  Both major political parties are trying to minimize the impact of voters choosing third party candidates in the 2024 election.  What could fix the “spoiler effect”, and allow third party candidates to still compete?   Ranked choice voting.

CBS News and the Wall Street Journal report that Green Party candidate Jill Stein accepted assistance from Republican affiliated lawyers to keep herself on the ballot in Wisconsin, and be restored to the ballot in Nevada in hopes of siphoning off votes from Kamala Harris.

Earlier this summer, Democrats sued to keep Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. off the ballot in five states.  Though he suspended his candidacy, Kennedy remains on the ballot in 33 states.  

Ranked choice voting, allows third party candidates like Stein, Kennedy, and Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver to compete, without the spoiler effect.  Voters could for example rank Stein first, Harris second and Oliver third.  In ranked choice, if a candidate has a 50% +1 majority, he or she wins outright.  If there is no 50%+1 majority, the lowest vote-getter is eliminated, voters’ second choices are used, and totals are recalculated.  The process continues until the winning candidate reaches a 50% + 1 majority.  

Only Alaska and Maine will use ranked choice for Presidential voting this year, but five states are considering RCV ballot measures in November.

We have more on how ranked choice works at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

CBS News – Republican allies boost longshot candidate Jill Stein as Democrats try to remove her from ballots in battleground states
FairVote – Jill Stein, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and spoiler season

Salon – There’s a solution to Democrats’ RFK Jr. problem: Ranked-choice voting
Politico – Democratic tactics against RFK Jr. are rattling his campaign
CBS News –  Democrats and their allies sue to keep RFK Jr. off the ballot in several states
CNN – How RFK Jr.’s presence on the Maine ballot could delay a projection in the 2024 race
Portland Press Herald/The Fulcrum – Opinion: We’re taking ranked-choice voting national for presidential elections
Ranked Vote – 2024 RCV Ballot Measures and Impact
Represent.Us – Video – How RCV works and the Spoiler Effect

Groups Taking Action:

FairVote, Represent.Us, Rank the Vote

Check Your Voter Registration:

• U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
• USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
• Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
• Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote
  
  

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #RankedChoiceVoting #SpoilerEffect #RCV #InstantRunoff

The post Spoiler Alert: Ranked Choice Voting Could Solve the Green Party and RFK Jr. ‘Spoiler Effect’  appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 8, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

The Republican-dominated Iowa House passed regulations March 5th which would require voters to return mail ballots the day BEFORE election day. House File 2610 also stops use of ballot drop boxes, bans ranked choice voting, and allows felons to run for federal office.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that if the bill becomes law, county election commissioners must send absentee ballots no later than 22 days before election day. But it also requires that all mail-in absentee ballots be returned by 5 pm the day BEFORE election day to be counted.   

For voters who forget, or don’t allow enough time for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver, ballot drop boxes would no longer be available under HF 2610.  Almost 14,000 Iowans used a drop box in the 2022 midterm.  

Falling in line with other red state legislatures, the bill bans use of ranked choice voting in any Iowa election, despite increasing popularity with voters.  

And in a provision aimed at protecting former President Donald Trump, the bill also would allow felons to run for FEDERAL office.  The Iowa constitution currently bans felons from voting or running for office, though Gov. Kim Reynolds restored those rights by executive order in 2020 for felons having COMPLETED their sentences.  The bill now heads to the Iowa Senate.

We have the voter suppression bill’s text, and groups taking action at   AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Iowa House – Text of House File 2610
Iowa Capital Dispatch – House votes to require mailed ballots to arrive before Election Day
Des Moines Register – Iowa House passes new voting restrictions. How they would affect you:
Iowa Secretary of State – Felon Voting Rights

NPR – Governor Acts To Restore Voting Rights To Iowans With Felony Convictions

Groups Taking Action:
Disability Rights Iowa,  LULAC Iowa, Better Ballot Iowa,  League of Women Voters Iowa

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VoterSuppression #Iowa #IowaPolitics #VotingRights

The post Iowa House Bill Requires Mail Ballots to Be Returned Before Election Day, Bans RCV, and Allows Convicted Felons to Qualify to Run in Federal Elections appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

Listen!

Today’s Links

Articles:
CNN – At least 10 Republican nominees for state elections chief have disputed the legitimacy of the 2020 election
Brennan Center for Justice – Financing of Races for Offices that Oversee Elections: August 2022

Center for Politics – Secretary of State Races: Election Deniers Carry GOP Banner in Several Key States

Groups Taking Action:
Brennan Center for Justice, Safeguarding Democracy Project, Campaign Legal Center

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

For most state elections, the races for Secretary of State are not on most voters’ radar. Not this year. The pervasive Big Lie narrative that the election was stolen is being used by Secretary of State candidates to rile up the base and to raise money – on both sides of the issue.

CNN reports on Secretary of State candidates in 10 states who are, or have previously, espoused that the 2020 election was stolen. Some, like Arizona’s Mark Finchem and Massachusetts’ Rayla Campbell, are still advocating for reviews of the results, despite no legitimate evidence of irregularities.

The Brennan Center for Justice has looked at the fundraising totals in six of those ten states and reports that compared with past elections, money is pouring into Secretary of State races. In Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and Wisconsin, the fundraising totals have doubled from 2018 levels to $16.3 Million dollars. Among 12 election-denying candidates, Brennan finds that they account for $7.3 million, while candidates who’ve spoken out supporting the security of elections raised $8.1 million dollars.

Stop the Steal donors like former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne and Uline founder Richard Uihlein, are actively contributing to multiple election-denying Secretary of State races, too.

CNN and the Brennan Center’s reports can be found at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

“Granny D said, Democracy is not something we have, it’s something we do.”
For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post ADM for August 15, 2022: Secretary of State Candidates on Both Sides of the Big Lie Raising Record Campaign Money appeared first on American Democracy Minute.