Hard work from VAV Volunteers like Nick Co in Virginia has paid off recently with Charlottesville, VA passing a Rank Choice Voting measure. It's just one story of many of how individual citizens, military veterans who feel called to lead, are restoring government of, by, and for the people in communities and states across the U.S.
ICYMI, we hosted a webinar with Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), as well as Rye Barcott and Nick Troiano, to discuss the bi-partisan Let America Vote Act would ensure every eligible voter's freedom to vote in every taxpayer-funded election, representing the single largest expansion of voting rights in half a century. You can watch that conversation below, along with other news and events from around the country. 74 days until voters in several states will have the opportunity to vote for pro-voter reforms... let's go!
Nevada
Freedom Fest @ Caesars Forum 7/12/2024
Brandon Moody, NV State Lead, Attended The Free & Equal Elections Foundations Debate - Third Party Candidates debated the issues and Free & Equal Elections foundation did a great job of representing these minority voices wit this televised debate at Freedom Fest
Day of Gratitude for Veterans - Raiders Stadium Featuring Vet The Vote 6/8/2024
Brandon Moody, NV State Lead, connected with Vet The Vote, who's mission is to get veterans to serves as poll workers, and did an interview of the importance of Vets getting civically engaged. Met with and got photos with Dan Vallone, Director of Vet The Vote.
RepresentUS Nevada "Sips & Signs" Event 7/16
RepresentUS NV invited supporters to a local brewpub for attendees to enjoy delicious drinks and snacks while creating signs about election innovations and the corruption in our democracy and discussing how to communicate these issues best through compelling signage in a safe an open environment. Led by RepresentUS Nevada Leader, Valessa Nantona, and other attendees showing off our creations at the end of the event.
Oregon
Oregon Veteran Leader, Derek Clevenger, speaking at the Oregon RCV "Yes on 117" campaign kick off
Virginia
Breaking news from UpVote Virginia: RCV passes in Charlottesville!
This week, Charlottesville City Council unanimously passed the first read of an ordinance that will establish Ranked Choice Voting as the election method for the June 2025 City Council primary elections. The second read will be placed on the consent agenda for the September meeting - in other words, it’s going to pass! We are thrilled that the City of Charlottesville has become the latest Virginia locality to embrace RCV.
This accomplishment is the result of advocacy and educational outreach from a broad coalition of groups in the region, including Ranked Choice Virginia, Veterans for All Voters, SERV, Virginia Organizing, and the League of Women Voters. We especially want to recognize the tireless work of former Delegate Sally Hudson who has led on this issue for years and has successfully brought RCV to her home turf.
Colorado
Nearly 213,000 signatures submitted to place Open Primary initiative on Nov. ballot
Supporters of the initiative establishing nonpartisan Open Primaries and Final 4 Ranked Voting for state and federal offices delivered nearly 213,000 signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office this morning.
Once approved, Initiative 310 will establish an Open Primary system where all voters participate and all candidates for state and federal offices appear on the same ballot. Each voter gets one vote, and the four candidates with the most votes – regardless of party – advance to the General Election. In the General Election, voters can rank their choices in order of preference, using an “instant runoff” to guarantee each contest is won by a majority (50%+1) of votes.
Initiative 310 establishing Open Primaries and majority-vote winners has drawn support from a diverse array of individuals and organizations, including: American Enterprise Institute, Bipartisan Policy Center, Fair Vote, Represent Women, Represent US, Unite America, Veterans for all Voters, Veterans for Political Innovation, and dozens of community leaders including current or former elected officials from around the state.
On August 13, 2024, VAV hosted a panel discussion featuring lead co-sponsors Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) about the bi-partisan Let America Vote Act would ensure every eligible voter's freedom to vote in every taxpayer-funded election, and would represent the single largest expansion of voting rights in half a century.
They were joined by Rye Barcott, CEO of With Honor Action, the leading bi-partisan organization of military veterans serving in Congress as well as Nick Troiano, Executive Director of Unite America who will be joining to provide broader context on the national reform movement.
The discussion was moderated by Todd Connor, Founder and CEO at Veterans for All Voters
Hubbard said he wants the country's political system to be more fair and representative of people's views, regardless of political ideology. He said that right now, elected officials of nearly all levels do not have public interest in mind and are too focused on getting re-elected. That's why he is walking across the country, making stops to share his message.
Kamala Harris chooses Ranked Choice Voting Champion Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as running mate.
Minnesota has a long history of extremely successful ranked choice voting usage, going back to 2009. Currently five Minnesota cities use ranked choice voting (RCV), including the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Even as we face opposition from entrenched Democratic Party interests in many states, it's notable that Governor Walz continues to advance election reform efforts including signing the Minnesota Voting Rights Act in May 17, 2024, which enables the use of proportional RCV as a remedy to address under-representation.
We remain hopeful that his strong history of supporting RCV can influence other leaders and elected officials in the Democratic Party.
VIEWPOINT | Amendment H aids democracy, not hurts the Democratic Party - Guest column by Drey Samuelson
Amendment H will eliminate closed partisan primaries, and bring all South Dakota voters together in a single, unified primary that allows ALL voters to vote. The top two finishers, regardless of political party, will then face off in the general election, with the winner gaining the seat. One of the most significant benefits is that it will allow 150,000 South Dakota independent voters for the first time to cast a meaningful primary vote, something they cannot do currently.
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