#Electoral Reform

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Democratic Senators Schatz, Durbin, and Welch push Constitutional amendment process to abolish Electoral College

Alexander Bolton at The Hill:

Three Democratic senators unveiled a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College system Monday, just more than a month after President-elect Trump stunned the Democrats by sweeping all seven battleground states, knocking off three Senate Democratic incumbents in the process. Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii,) Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), three leading progressive Senate voices, say it’s time to “restore democracy” by allowing for the direct election of presidents through the popular vote alone. The senators are troubled that the Electoral College has twice elected a candidate who didn’t win the popular vote in the past 19 years. In both those instances, a Republican captured the White House — George W. Bush in the 2000 election and Trump in the 2016 election. “In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” Schatz said. “No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic. It’s time to end it.” To be sure, Trump would have still won the 2024 election if it had been decided by popular vote. He collected 77,300,739 votes compared to Vice President Harris’s 75,014,534. But many Democrats think that they would have had a better chance to beat Trump if they had a reason to focus on running up the margin of Harris’s victory in populous Democratic strongholds such as California, Illinois and New York. Republicans, however, also have big, populous states squarely in their column, namely Florida and Texas.

Democratic Senators Schatz, Durbin, and Welch push Constitutional amendment process to abolish the antiquated disgrace known as the Electoral College. Presidencies should be decided purely by popular vote, and such a move would widen the battleground map, as it would force both parties to compete in states currently safe for their respective parties to get the vote out.

[itsallpoliticsstupid]

Reform voters not understanding consequences of their choice

There are reports of Reform voters complaining that they didn't expect to end up with a Labour Government by voting Reform.

And all I can ask is, how?!

Having the right to participate in free and fair elections is one of the cornerstones of democracy and why I vehemently defend living in one. That being said, I also fear people have such low Political literacy that they can't really make an informed choice on the matter.

I believe that Politics should be mandatory in schools. Why are we teaching children about Philosophy, but not something that they will be participating in for their adult lives.

Maybe it's time to start considering bringing this subject in to schools.

(Just to note, I'm not having a go at people voting Reform. I've always had the view political literacy is low across all sides of the political spectrum and it should be taught in schools by teachers who do not have any political alignment. This whole deal just cements that fact for me.

[chaoticamelay]

an incomplete list of things younger than the first time* canada elected a federal govt who campaigned on implementing electoral reform, specifically proportional representation:

The WInter Olympics (1924)

Sliced bread (1928)

Penicillin (1928)

Mickey Mouse (1928)

Looney Tunes (1930)

Chocolate chip cookies (1938)

North and South Korea (1945)

The United Nations (1945)

The State of Israel (1948)

Newfoundland and Labrador joining Canada (1949)

Space exploration (1957)

Lasers (1960)

Spider-Man (1962)

Email (1971)

Greenpeace (1971)

CDs (1982)

Nunavut, Canada's third territory (1999)

*mackenzie king's liberals, in 1921

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A petition calling for a reform of the voting system in Quebec, posted on the national assembly's website, has received more than 10,000 signatures since Oct. 3. The petition, launched by the Mouvement démocratie nouvelle(opens in a new tab) and sponsored by PQ MNA Pascal Bérubé, had collected more than 12,000 signatures by Sunday morning. It is the petition with the most signatures among those currently open on the National Assembly website -- its closest competitor has received around 2,000. The document calls for the first-past-the-post voting system currently in force to be replaced by a mixed-member proportional voting system, which "would allow for a fairer representation of the diversity of opinions, values and convictions expressed by the Quebec population," according to the petition's instigators.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[wild-aspen]

How do we get people we actually like into government?

This is a multi-stage problem that comes in 3 parts:

Immediate concerns for the election of 2024

Near-future concerns after the 2024 election

Far-future concerns after certain goals are achieved

Immediate Concerns: Re-elect Biden and Democrats in your state on the national and local levels:

You might not like Biden or the Democrats, but if you want REAL election reform, we NEED them, because Republicans are against election reform in every way.

Near Future Concerns: Election reform in your local area:

Vote in local elections! I told you to do this up in step 1, but I'm going to reiterate it again because towns run elections all the damn time. Local elections are a great way to build power from the bottom-up. These people are closer to you than the president or your congressperson; they know you and your town. Vote for school board, vote for mayor, vote for the chief of police, vote for council members. You're going to need them on your side for the following goals.

Lobby for ranked-choice voting (RCV) in your town or city. This is one of the biggest reforms we need. With ranked-choice voting, we can fix a lot of problems. Ranked-choice voting means we'll be able to vote in third party candidates and actually have them win elections. It is happening! You'll notice on the map I linked that states like Florida have banned RCV. That's because Republicans know they'll lose if it becomes the law in their area. So if you have Republicans in charge of your town or city, this is going to be an uphill battle - which is why step 1 was to vote local.

Lobby for more polling locations. Many Republicans have had voting locations taken down, making it harder for people to vote in a multitude of ways (longer distance to get to a polling location, more people per location causing longer lines which makes it harder for people with an hourly wage to take off time to vote etc).

Vote for voter-ID reforms: Republican-lead states have incredibly strict ID laws you can help strike down. Vote them out, and then vote out their laws.

Lobby for incarcerated/convict voting. Being convicted of a crime and even being in jail shouldn't strip you of your right to vote especially in a country that disproportionately arrests and convicts people of color.

Vote to expand by-mail voting and other voting methods that make it easier for working people, disabled people, and other marginalized folks vote so their voice is heard.

On election day, VOLUNTEER. Drive people to the polls. Be a poll watcher - Republicans love to volunteer for this because it allows them to intimidate marginalized people out of voting. Your presence could make someone feel safe. You could get someone to the poll who might not have been able to make it otherwise.

Far-Future Goals: Lobby to eliminate the Electoral College

Once we have ranked-choice voting and we've been able to vote far-left candidates into office and we no longer have Republicans in control of everything, then we can do the hardest part: a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the Electoral College. This absolutely positively cannot happen with Republicans in power. It requires 2/3rds of all US states or 2/3rds of the House and the Senate to even get and Amendment proposed. Then, 3/4 of all the state legislatures must ratify it.

[southeastreporters]

Peter Obi Hails Coalition’s Endorsement of ADC for 2027 Elections, Calls for Unity to Build 'New Nigeria'

Former presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has applauded the formal adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by a coalition of political actors ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing it as a courageous step toward building a united and people-focused Nigeria. Obi made the announcement in a post yesterday, confirming that the coalition has appointed Distinguished Senator David…

[islander1974]

Don't get cocky, Liberals.

Please understand that your team barely won this election. A minority government where you’re to rely on opposition parliamentary votes to pass legislation. To be sure, Liberals could have claimed victory in any case. The day before Justin Trudeau announced his resignation, his party looked like it was racing towards the electoral cliff and the CPC leadership were measuring the drapes to the…

[weirdstrangeandawful]

Hey guys, if any of you are in British Columbia, Canada and have the energy, please sign up to present your thoughts on electoral reform.

I don’t want to influence your thoughts or anything, especially since I haven’t done enough research, but first past the post (FPTP) voting had been shown time and time again to be less representative of the people. This is the system that allows gerrymandering because it depends highly on where boundaries are drawn. Most ranked ballot systems work much better and we really need to be moving in that direction.

Even if all you have to say is ‘FPTP sucks and I think we should use a form of ranked ballot or proportional representation’ I think you should apply to speak just to say that. I wish everyone luck! One province doing this paves the way for Canada doing this as promised literally 10 years ago

[naija247new]

Reps Pass Bill for Mandatory Voting in Nigeria to Curb Voter Apathy

Abuja | Naija247news – May 15, 2025 — In a decisive move aimed at reversing Nigeria’s persistent voter apathy, the House of Representatives has passed for second reading a landmark bill that seeks to make voting mandatory in all elections for eligible citizens. The bill, sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, received overwhelming support during Thursday’s plenary session, signaling strong…

[bsahely]

Beyond Political Tribalism: Regenerating Democracy in St. Kitts and Nevis. \ ChatGPT4o

[Download Full Document (PDF)] St. Kitts and Nevis faces a chronic challenge that undermines its development, democracy, and dignity: political tribalism. This entrenched pattern has distorted governance, eroded social trust, hindered national planning, and alienated young people and diaspora communities. In a world of escalating ecological and geopolitical risks, the Federation cannot afford to…

[wrgreens]

CKMS Meet The Candidate

Cambridge Greens: Vote Lux Burgess “I’m running because my family’s future—and the future of all families—means everything to me. I want my loved ones to grow up in a world that’s safe, healthy, and full of opportunity. But with rising costs, and growing inequality, that future is at risk. “I can’t just sit back and hope things get better—I want to be part of the solution. That’s why I’m…

[skaiawards]

Emerging from poring through Title 24 of the Virginia Code trying to find the explicit ban on fusion voting like

[glitchyvoxel]

You could have something like this!

If you (like me) want 3rd party candidates to be an actual viable option in USA elections so you no longer have to vote for Democrats OR Republicans as your first and only choice, then what we need is Ranked Choice Voting. In order for that to happen, we as voters have to do two things:

Vote Democrat this fall, because Republicans fucking hate Ranked Choice Voting, and in several Republican-run states they have outlawed it. So if you want it, you have to keep Democrats in power in your state.

Lobby for and then vote for Ranked-choice voting in your state!Many American states have already adopted Ranked Choice voting and several more are set to do so in 2024. The ball is literally already rolling on this, we just need YOU to help it along.

[islander1974]

Epilogue of the federal election

So there it is. Another federal election done and gone, a new government chosen by voters for up to 4 years, one that will hopefully outlast the insanity south of us. But not all is great. I will start that I am a country-first progressive voter. That is to say that I value my country’s survival and viability above partisanship. So, I am genuinely grateful that the Conservatives lost. But I…