[LWVNM Action] Convention item

Fri Apr 9 09:32:21 MDT 2021

I am pasting the relevant portion of the minutes from our March board
meeting.  I am glad that Meredith brought this up because I was wondering
what happened to the meeting Karen W. told us about.  I was hoping it would
be open to all League members, but have not seen it mentioned since March 6.
Barbara

 *PROPOSED CONCURRENCE WITH LWVVT POSITION ON RANKED-CHOICE VOTING*

Delegates to the 2019 LWVNM Convention were asked to adopt the
board-recommended statement in the Election Procedures position which read,
"Ranked-choice voting [RCV] in all elections" to replace the wording,
"Amending the State Constitution to allow run-off elections in the case of
non-partisan elections."  The delegates rejected this proposal because of a
lack of understanding on the issue and the concerns about whether RCV had
been successfully implemented in other jurisdictions.  The Santa Fe League
has asked that the RCV statement be reconsidered at the 2021 Convention.
Chris moved that LWVNM adopt the RCV statement in place of the current
run-off statement and to include it as a recommended item at the convention
in April.  Meredith seconded this motion.  Chris noted that Common Cause
will provide educational materials to League members and that organization
has offered to meet with the individual Leagues about the issue.

Akkana instead suggested using language such as, "an alternative voting
system like ranked choice voting" because there are multiple alternative
voting systems.    Barbara offered Akkana's proposed language as a friendly
amendment, which Chris accepted.  Dick is concerned about this language
change because it suggests we approve every alternative way of voting.
Eileen was concerned about amending language from a concurrence with
another League and Kathy was concerned that adopting a position from
another League does not allow buy-in from the membership until after the
fact.  Based on these concerns, Chris withdrew her motion.

On Fri, Apr 9, 2021 at 8:37 AM Meredith Machen via Action <
action at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:

> My apologies. In my broken arm and shoulder pain haze, I did not read  it
> carefully. I was remembering the Board discussion on RCV and was thinking
> it was included in the position revision. Thanks for correcting the record,
> Chris.
>
> Meredith Machen ,
> mermachen at cybermesa.com
> 505 577 6337
>
> On Apr 9, 2021, at 10:09 AM, Chris Furlanetto <crfrwf at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> 
> Meredith,
>
> I need to correct your message below.
>
> The Program agenda for the LWVNM Convention does not include any Election
> Procedures position changes regarding ranked choice voting (RCV) or any
> other methods of counting votes.
>
> There is an Election Procedures item on the Convention agenda. This
> concerns the addition of two Board-approved sub-bullets related to primary
> election eligibility/party affiliation.
>
> Please refer to the Spring La Palabra for a description of all the Program
> items to be voted on. All are recommended by the LWVNM Board.
>
> The question of amending the NM Election Procedures position to endorse
> RCV or to make any other changes to our position about how votes are
> counted is not on the agenda for Convention as either a recommended or
> non-recommended item for a vote. Stating that the the state Board approved
> and supports such an update to our Election Procedures position is
> incorrect.
>
> Let me know of any questions of course. I'll be happy to provide
> additional information.
>
> Chris
>
> On Thursday, April 8, 2021, 01:41:52 PM MDT, Meredith Machen via Action <
> action at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:
>
>
> For background on why the state board approved and supports updating our
> Election Procedures position as presented in the Spring La Palabra Program
> Report, see below. Plurality voting is a democratic system that requires a
> majority in order to win while “winner takes all” fails to do that. Thanks
> for studying the issue. Santa Fe and Las Cruces joined many enlightened
> governments by instituting ranked choice voting. The Maine uses it for all
> elections even primaries. Lots of Leagues have done extensive studies and
> have lobbied for voters to support the change.
>
> Meredith Machen
> mermachen at cybermesa.com
> 505 577 6337
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From:* Paula Lee <paula.lee at comcast.net>
> *Date:* April 8, 2021 at 11:27:34 AM EDT
> *To:* Kayla Vix <KVix at lwv.org>
> *Cc:* LWV New York - Dare Thompson <darethompson at gmail.com>, LWV Colorado
> - ED Beth Hendrix <bhendrix at lwvcolorado.org>, Carol Moon Goldberg <
> cmoongoldberg at lwvc.org>, League of Women Voters State Presidents <
> lwv-state-presidents at googlegroups.com>
> *Subject:* *Re: Mt Holyoke professor Douglas J Amy*
>
> 
> Professor Douglas Amy’s book “Behind the Ballot Box: A Citizens Guide to
> Election Systems had a great list of criteria
> California Local Leagues used to evaluate different electoral systems in
> California’s state study of election systems.
>
> I am not familiar with ALL his work but Professor Amy has been writing
> about the problems with U.S. plurality elections for many years.
> As an alternative to plurality winner take all elections,  he argues for
> proportional representation.
>
> After 20 years of LWV state and local electoral reform studies, our LWVUS *Voter
> Representation and Election Systems*
> position supports alternatives to plurality voting and supports
> proportional representation.
>
> Perhaps it is what motivated Prof. Amy to contact some local leagues
> rather than “self promotion”?
>
> The specific position language can be found in LWVUS publication "Impact
> on Issues" page 47 and 48
> https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/LWV-impact-2020.pdf
>
>  "we support electoral systems that “implement alternatives to plurality
> voting”
> and
> "The League supports electoral systems that elect policy-making
> bodies–-legislatures, councils, commissions, and boards—that proportionally
> reflect the people they represent.”
>
> Paula Lee
> LWV Sacramento, CA
> 916-704-0195 Cell & Text
>
> P.S. I found this when I looked up his book *Real Choices/New Voices*:
>
> There is a growing realization that many of the problems afflicting
> American elections can be traced to the electoral system itself, in
> particular to our winner-take-all approach to electing officials. Douglas
> Amy demonstrates that switching to proportional representation
> elections―the voting system used in most other Western democracies, by
> which officials are elected in large, multimember districts according to
> the proportion of the vote won by their parties―would enliven democratic
> political debate, increase voter choice and voter turnout, ensure fair
> representation for third parties and minorities, eliminate wasted votes and
> "spoilers," and ultimately produce policies that better reflect the public
> will. Looking beyond new voting machines and other quick fixes for our
> electoral predicament, this new edition of Real Choices/New Voices offers
> a timely and imaginative way out of the frustrations of our current system
> of choosing leaders.
>
> On Apr 6, 2021, at 7:40 AM, Kayla Vix <KVix at lwv.org> wrote:
>
> I would caution against promoting resources that LWV doesn’t endorse or
> control. There may be some good content here, but this feels mostly like
> self-promotion—especially if this person is getting in touch with many
> Leagues in this way.
>
> *Kayla Vix* (she/her)
> <https://www.lwv.org/league-management/dei-resources/pronoun-and-gender-guidance>
> Communications Manager
> League of Women Voters of the United States
>
> 1233 20th St NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036
> 202-809-9668 | kvix at lwv.org
> lwv.org <https://www.lwv.org/> | Facebook
> <http://facebook.com/leagueofwomenvoters> | Twitter
> <http://twitter.com/lwv>
>
> <image001.jpg>
>
> *From:* lwv-state-presidents at googlegroups.com <
> lwv-state-presidents at googlegroups.com> *On Behalf Of *Dare Thompson
> *Sent:* Monday, April 5, 2021 5:31 PM
> *To:* LWV Colorado - ED Beth Hendrix <bhendrix at lwvcolorado.org>
> *Cc:* Carol Moon Goldberg <cmoongoldberg at lwvc.org>; League of Women
> Voters State Presidents <lwv-state-presidents at googlegroups.com>
> *Subject:* Re: Mt Holyoke professor Douglas J Amy
>
> My local League got the same message and I was impressed by what I saw of
> his writings and background but we don't endorse even the finest of finest
> scholars so we couldn't think what to do about his request except maybe to
> ask him to speak to us. I'm also on the NY state board and haven't heard
> how we responded if we did.
>
> Dare Thompson
> 36 Reservoir Road, Marlboro, NY 12542
> 845-236-3074 (preferred)  845-591-3445 (cell)
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 5, 2021 at 3:10 PM Beth Hendrix <bhendrix at lwvcolorado.org>
> wrote:
>
> One of our state Leagues forwarded a message from Dr. Amy, which prompted
> a bit of background research – he seems legit and a valid resource, we
> decided – that said, we haven’t contacted him at this point.
> Best --
> Beth
>
> Beth Hendrix
> (she/her)
> Executive Director
> <image002.jpg>
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lwvcolorado.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Ckvix%40lwv.org%7C0cc7488acddc45a561fe08d8f87a190c%7C90befbfe6dce4edfba8a35fb67131124%7C1%7C0%7C637532550604188254%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=yNg9cWzQleMBVyZRUugc21U0CUcrpRm21eNhdqUfjpE%3D&reserved=0>
> Empowering voters. Defending democracy.
> Empoderar a los votantes. La defensa de la democracia.
> 303-863-0437 office
> 303-588-5470 cell
>
> *From:* lwv-state-presidents at googlegroups.com <
> lwv-state-presidents at googlegroups.com> *On Behalf Of *Carol Moon Goldberg
> *Sent:* Monday, April 5, 2021 12:50 PM
> *To:* 'League of Women Voters State Presidents' <
> lwv-state-presidents at googlegroups.com>
> *Subject:* Mt Holyoke professor Douglas J Amy
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> A couple of our local Leagues have been contacted by a retired Mt. Holyoke
> professor named Douglas J. Amy suggesting that his website be posted on
> their websites.  I believe this is the site
> https://governmentisgood.com/about.php
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgovernmentisgood.com%2Fabout.php&data=04%7C01%7Ckvix%40lwv.org%7C0cc7488acddc45a561fe08d8f87a190c%7C90befbfe6dce4edfba8a35fb67131124%7C1%7C0%7C637532550604198201%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=GMwNq%2F82BW5CcnZfL6ILriVQpsDfDsoNpZrEwLpglqw%3D&reserved=0>
> Government is Good - About this website
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgovernmentisgood.com%2Fabout.php&data=04%7C01%7Ckvix%40lwv.org%7C0cc7488acddc45a561fe08d8f87a190c%7C90befbfe6dce4edfba8a35fb67131124%7C1%7C0%7C637532550604198201%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=GMwNq%2F82BW5CcnZfL6ILriVQpsDfDsoNpZrEwLpglqw%3D&reserved=0>
> About this website. governmentisgood.com
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgovernmentisgood.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7Ckvix%40lwv.org%7C0cc7488acddc45a561fe08d8f87a190c%7C90befbfe6dce4edfba8a35fb67131124%7C1%7C0%7C637532550604208160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=BrM3B4tu7ZNtpmoPSFfuI8qz4kMaOrPuFEme60rKFRI%3D&reserved=0>
>  – a web project of Douglas J. Amy. I am a Professor of Politics at Mount
> Holyoke College, where I have taught American politics for over 20 years.
> My main area of expertise has been electoral system reform, and I have
> written a number of books including Real Choices, New Voices: How
> Proportional Representation Elections Could Revitalize American ...
> governmentisgood.com
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgovernmentisgood.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7Ckvix%40lwv.org%7C0cc7488acddc45a561fe08d8f87a190c%7C90befbfe6dce4edfba8a35fb67131124%7C1%7C0%7C637532550604208160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=BrM3B4tu7ZNtpmoPSFfuI8qz4kMaOrPuFEme60rKFRI%3D&reserved=0>
> He's created a library on proportional representation for FairVote.
>
> Have you or any of the Leagues in your states had contact with this?  What
> are your opinions of it, if you have any.
>
> Thanks so much,
> Carol Moon Goldberg (she, her)
>
> President
>
> League of Women Voters of California
>
> Phone (916) 715-2604
>
> cmoongoldberg at lwvc.org
>
>
>
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