[LWVNM Action] Action Digest, Vol 35, Issue 15
Sonya Berg
berg.sonya42 at gmail.com
Wed Sep 21 13:02:47 MDT 2022
Akkana, when is the action committee meeting? I am under such a burden and
so much stress that my mind doesn't work very efficiently these days. THX
*Nevertheless She Persisted, 2020 Centennial Celebration of Woman's Vote *
*Sonya*
On Wed, Sep 21, 2022 at 12:00 PM <action-request at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap Winner-Take-All Political
> System (Akkana Peck)
> 2. Re: Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap Winner-Take-All Political
> System (Meredith Machen)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2022 12:31:18 -0600
> From: Akkana Peck <akkana at shallowsky.com>
> To: action at mailman.swcp.com
> Subject: Re: [LWVNM Action] Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap
> Winner-Take-All Political System
> Message-ID: <YyoG9sghL4FFIOWB at shallowsky.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> In case anyone wants the details, Impact on Issues (the national
> League's position document) is at
> https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/LWV-impact-2020.pdf
> (linked from the beginning of the Positions page on lwvnm.org)
> and I found the relevant position on pp. 47-48:
>
> Whether for single or multiple winner contests, the League supports
> electoral methods that:
> ? Encourage voter participation and voter engagement
> ? Encourage those with minority opinions to participate, including
> under-represented
> communities
> ? Are verifiable and auditable
> ? Promote access to voting
> ? Maximize effective votes/minimize wasted votes
> ? Promote sincere voting over strategic voting
> 48
> ? Implement alternatives to plurality voting
> ? Are compatible with acceptable ballot-casting methods, including
> vote-by-mail
>
> The LWVUS believes in representative government. The League supports
> electoral systems that elect policy-making bodies?-legislatures, councils,
> commissions, and boards?that proportionally reflect the people they
> represent. We support systems that inhibit political manipulation (e.g.,
> gerrymandering). The LWVUS supports enabling legislation to allow local
> jurisdictions to explore alternative electoral methods, as well as
> supporting state election laws allowing for more options at both the state
> and local levels. With the adoption of any electoral system, the League
> believes that education of the voting public is important and funding for
> startup and voter education should be available. We encourage a concerted
> voter education process.
>
> ...Akkana
>
> Barbara Calef via Action writes:
> > LWVNM has not discussed it. It's okay with LWVUS. See Impact on Issues.
> >
> > Barbara
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 10:26 AM Jeanne Logsdon <jlogsdon at unm.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> > > Do we know whether the LWV will support the idea?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Jeanne
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > *From:* Action <action-bounces at mailman.swcp.com> *On Behalf Of
> *Barbara
> > > Calef via Action
> > > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 20, 2022 10:02 AM
> > > *To:* Kathleen Burke <kathleenmariaburke at yahoo.com>; LWVNM Action <
> > > action at mailman.swcp.com>
> > > *Cc:* Barbara Calef <bfcalef at gmail.com>
> > > *Subject:* Re: [LWVNM Action] Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap
> > > Winner-Take-All Political System
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > * [EXTERNAL]*
> > >
> > > This was Lonna Atkeson's recommendation (and Kathy Campbell's as well).
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Barbara
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 9:57 AM Kathleen Burke via Action <
> > > action at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Excerpted from the New York Times, here below from the Election Law
> Blog:
> > >
> > >
> > > ?Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap Winner-Take-All Political System?
> > >
> > > September 20, 2022, 7:53 amalternative voting systemsRICK HASEN
> > >
> > > New York Times:
> > >
> > > If there?s one thing we know about America?s creaking democracy, it?s
> > > this: Whenever it seems fundamentally broken, people get together to
> try to
> > > fix it.
> > >
> > > That?s happening now. We?re living through one of the United States?
> > > periodic bursts of reformist energy, with various groups pushing to
> alter
> > > the structure of our elections even as ? or rather because ? millions
> of
> > > voters on both sides of our partisan divide question the integrity of
> the
> > > system.
> > >
> > > The latest entry is a roster of more than 200 American political
> > > scientists who have put forward a sweeping proposal to change the way
> the
> > > United States has conducted its federal elections for nearly 250 years.
> > >
> > > In a sharply written open letter to Congress
> > > <
> https://medium.com/@scholars-redistricting-reform/open-letter-to-congress-to-end-single-member-congressional-districts-and-adopt-proportional-97ad1cf6aa2e>
> published
> > > on Monday and shared in advance with The New York Times, the scholars
> tell
> > > lawmakers, ?It is clear that our winner-take-all system ? where each
> U.S.
> > > House district is represented by a single person ? is fundamentally
> > > broken.? They call on Congress to ?adopt inclusive, multimember
> districts
> > > with competitive and responsive proportional representation.?
> > >
> > > The list of signatories includes nine of the 18 living U.S.-based
> winners
> > > of the Johan Skytte Prize, a prestigious Swedish award that has become
> a
> > > kind of unofficial Nobel for political science: Robert Axelrod, Francis
> > > Fukuyama, Peter J. Katzenstein, Robert Keohane, David D. Laitin,
> Margaret
> > > Levi, Arend Lijphart, Philippe C. Schmitter and Rein Taagepera.
> > >
> > > ?Our arcane, single-member districting process divides, polarizes and
> > > isolates us from each other,? the professors write. ?It has effectively
> > > extinguished competitive elections for most Americans, and produced a
> > > deeply divided political system that is incapable of responding to
> changing
> > > demands and emerging challenges with necessary legitimacy.?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > *Kathleen M. Burke*
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Action mailing list
> > > Action at mailman.swcp.com
> > > https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/action
> > >
> > >
>
> > _______________________________________________
> > Action mailing list
> > Action at mailman.swcp.com
> > https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/action
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2022 13:56:51 -0600
> From: "Meredith Machen" <mermachen at cybermesa.com>
> To: "'LWVNM Action'" <action at mailman.swcp.com>
> Subject: Re: [LWVNM Action] Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap
> Winner-Take-All Political System
> Message-ID: <022201d8cd2b$21e31e50$65a95af0$@cybermesa.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> On National Voter Registration Day and on many other days throughout the
> year, League members across the country are registering new votes,
> encouraging people to vote, compiling voter guides, conducting candidate
> forums, fighting voter suppression, protecting fair and accessible
> elections, and pushing for people power to overcome corporate influence.
>
> https://www.lwv.org/elections has more info.
>
> Lots of places are seeing the benefits of ranked choice voting and other
> alternative systems in developing more shared leadership and ownership of
> community problem solving Many potentially great leaders would never run
> for office because politics today is a win-lose blood sport. We don't need
> more bloody battlefields filled with losers who then give up on government
> service.
>
> It is time to end the toxic duopoly and reform the broken system.
>
>
> Meredith Machen
> 505 577 6337
> mermachen at cybermesa.com
> meredith.machen at gmail.com
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Action [mailto:action-bounces at mailman.swcp.com] On Behalf Of Akkana
> Peck via Action
> Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2022 12:31 PM
> To: action at mailman.swcp.com
> Cc: Akkana Peck
> Subject: Re: [LWVNM Action] Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap Winner-Take-All
> Political System
>
> In case anyone wants the details, Impact on Issues (the national
> League's position document) is at
> https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/LWV-impact-2020.pdf
> (linked from the beginning of the Positions page on lwvnm.org)
> and I found the relevant position on pp. 47-48:
>
> Whether for single or multiple winner contests, the League supports
> electoral methods that:
> ? Encourage voter participation and voter engagement
> ? Encourage those with minority opinions to participate, including
> under-represented
> communities
> ? Are verifiable and auditable
> ? Promote access to voting
> ? Maximize effective votes/minimize wasted votes
> ? Promote sincere voting over strategic voting
> 48
> ? Implement alternatives to plurality voting
> ? Are compatible with acceptable ballot-casting methods, including
> vote-by-mail
>
> The LWVUS believes in representative government. The League supports
> electoral systems that elect policy-making bodies?-legislatures, councils,
> commissions, and boards?that proportionally reflect the people they
> represent. We support systems that inhibit political manipulation (e.g.,
> gerrymandering). The LWVUS supports enabling legislation to allow local
> jurisdictions to explore alternative electoral methods, as well as
> supporting state election laws allowing for more options at both the state
> and local levels. With the adoption of any electoral system, the League
> believes that education of the voting public is important and funding for
> startup and voter education should be available. We encourage a concerted
> voter education process.
>
> ...Akkana
>
> Barbara Calef via Action writes:
> > LWVNM has not discussed it. It's okay with LWVUS. See Impact on Issues.
> >
> > Barbara
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 10:26 AM Jeanne Logsdon <jlogsdon at unm.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> > > Do we know whether the LWV will support the idea?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Jeanne
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > *From:* Action <action-bounces at mailman.swcp.com> *On Behalf Of
> *Barbara
> > > Calef via Action
> > > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 20, 2022 10:02 AM
> > > *To:* Kathleen Burke <kathleenmariaburke at yahoo.com>; LWVNM Action <
> > > action at mailman.swcp.com>
> > > *Cc:* Barbara Calef <bfcalef at gmail.com>
> > > *Subject:* Re: [LWVNM Action] Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap
> > > Winner-Take-All Political System
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > * [EXTERNAL]*
> > >
> > > This was Lonna Atkeson's recommendation (and Kathy Campbell's as well).
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Barbara
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 9:57 AM Kathleen Burke via Action <
> > > action at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Excerpted from the New York Times, here below from the Election Law
> Blog:
> > >
> > >
> > > ?Scholars Ask Congress to Scrap Winner-Take-All Political System?
> > >
> > > September 20, 2022, 7:53 amalternative voting systemsRICK HASEN
> > >
> > > New York Times:
> > >
> > > If there?s one thing we know about America?s creaking democracy, it?s
> > > this: Whenever it seems fundamentally broken, people get together to
> try to
> > > fix it.
> > >
> > > That?s happening now. We?re living through one of the United States?
> > > periodic bursts of reformist energy, with various groups pushing to
> alter
> > > the structure of our elections even as ? or rather because ? millions
> of
> > > voters on both sides of our partisan divide question the integrity of
> the
> > > system.
> > >
> > > The latest entry is a roster of more than 200 American political
> > > scientists who have put forward a sweeping proposal to change the way
> the
> > > United States has conducted its federal elections for nearly 250 years.
> > >
> > > In a sharply written open letter to Congress
> > > <
> https://medium.com/@scholars-redistricting-reform/open-letter-to-congress-to-end-single-member-congressional-districts-and-adopt-proportional-97ad1cf6aa2e>
> published
> > > on Monday and shared in advance with The New York Times, the scholars
> tell
> > > lawmakers, ?It is clear that our winner-take-all system ? where each
> U.S.
> > > House district is represented by a single person ? is fundamentally
> > > broken.? They call on Congress to ?adopt inclusive, multimember
> districts
> > > with competitive and responsive proportional representation.?
> > >
> > > The list of signatories includes nine of the 18 living U.S.-based
> winners
> > > of the Johan Skytte Prize, a prestigious Swedish award that has become
> a
> > > kind of unofficial Nobel for political science: Robert Axelrod, Francis
> > > Fukuyama, Peter J. Katzenstein, Robert Keohane, David D. Laitin,
> Margaret
> > > Levi, Arend Lijphart, Philippe C. Schmitter and Rein Taagepera.
> > >
> > > ?Our arcane, single-member districting process divides, polarizes and
> > > isolates us from each other,? the professors write. ?It has effectively
> > > extinguished competitive elections for most Americans, and produced a
> > > deeply divided political system that is incapable of responding to
> changing
> > > demands and emerging challenges with necessary legitimacy.?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > *Kathleen M. Burke*
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Action mailing list
> > > Action at mailman.swcp.com
> > > https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/action
> > >
> > >
>
> > _______________________________________________
> > Action mailing list
> > Action at mailman.swcp.com
> > https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/action
>
> _______________________________________________
> Action mailing list
> Action at mailman.swcp.com
> https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/action
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
> _______________________________________________
> Action mailing list
> Action at mailman.swcp.com
> https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/action
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Action Digest, Vol 35, Issue 15
> **************************************
>
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