RCV is the Answer to Historic Pandemic and Economy in Turmoil

July 16, 2020

During this momentous year with an historic pandemic, and economy in turmoil, national and
local election campaigns, and a renewed focus on racial justice, we continue to hold dearly
our rights to hold public debates and to elect our leaders. And we wish to thank you for your
active participation in our democracy and in protecting its long-term health.

These times emphasize the need to improve the effectiveness of our voting process:

Lack of progress on racial justice is one result of American political dysfunction. Not
enough politicians are doing the hard work of working together.
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) discourages “us versus them” political
dysfunction. Candidates can only get elected if they get broad voter support.
RCV improves voter turnout as voters feel their vote is more effective and
representative of their preferences. Voting – and high voter turnout – ensures all
voices are heard in our election process, so no one gets marginalized.
RCV for Texas Campaign Update:
We have more than doubled our number of supporters since our last update, now
surpassing 600 individuals across Texas. Our digital outreach efforts are paying off.
We have spoken virtually at several community events, and we are now on Instagram
and LinkedIn in addition to Facebook.
We remain focused on introducing RCV legislation in the Texas legislative session
scheduled to begin in January 2021.

How can you help? Here are a variety of ways:

Spread the word

Reach out to 10 people you know. Send them our 1-page summary of the
benefits of RCV, how it works, and what we want supporters to do to help get
legislation passed.
Reach out to your social media network and post support for RCV with a link
to our website or our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages.

Community Outreach

Ask the head of any organization you belong to if they would be willing to
pass along information about RCV to their members.
Host an online event where you or another volunteer presents about RCV.
Reach out to community groups and local political organizations to build our
coalition.
Make calls or send emails to people in our supporter database to try to activate
them to volunteer.
Organize other volunteers who live in your city to discuss local options for
reaching out to potential supporters.
Submit a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

Behind the scenes

Create relevant and engaging written or visual content for our website, media,
or supporter newsletter.

Financial Support:

Make a one-time or recurring donation.
Help raise money to support our public outreach efforts.

RCV in the News

Indiana Republican Party shifted its state convention to a virtual format in June due
to restrictions on large gatherings aimed at minimizing the spread of the coronavirus.
Under this virtual format, they used RCV to select their nominees, including the
contested race for state Attorney General.
Utah Republican Party in April also switched to a virtual convention and used RCV
throughout. Utah GOP already used RCV in past party conventions, but not to this
extent.
In April, Virginia passed legislation allowing its municipalities to opt-in to using RCV
for local elections.
Democratic primaries in Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and Wyoming used RCV ballots for
the first time, as did early voters in Nevada’s caucus.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Practice of Democratic
Citizenship issued in June its final report with 31 recommendations that
communities, institutions, and individuals can take to promote engaged citizenship in
the 21st century. One of their recommendations is RCV.

Please let us know how you would like to help. Email us at [email protected]

Best regards,
Harriet and Kathryn