WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today at the Claim Democracy conference Ed Davis of Common Cause, Ben Wilcox of Common Cause Florida, Michael McDonald of Brookings & George Mason University, redistricting attorney Jeff Wice, Peter Wagner of Prison Policiy Initiative, Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action, Carling Dinkler of Congressman John Tanner’s office and Steven Ochoa of the William C. Velasquez Institute were all scheduled to speak on a panel about redistricting reform. Barnett and I attended a panel about technology and elections at the same time.

Our episode about redistricting reform continues to climb the charts. Watch it if you haven’t already.

Posted in Election Reform, Gerrymandering & redistricting | 4 Comments »

Ah-nold’s plan for redistricting reform (and his opinion of California’s Presidential Election Reform Act) is after the jump. Photo of California Governors Pete Wilson, Schwarzenegger, and Gray Davis by Nick Ut for the AP.
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Yesterday we brought you our interview with the creator of the Redistricting Game.

On Thursday, Opportunity 08 - the joint project of the Brookings Institution and ABC News - ran a piece by John Porter, the former Republican Congressman from Illinois. Porter calls “instant runoff voting” the solution to what he sees as the disenfranchisement of moderate voters brought about by redistricting. The gerrymandering of congressional districts “means that the real election is the party primaries where only the most liberal Democrats and the most conservative Republicans are likely to vote,” the article says.
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