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Californians for Electoral Reform |
PO Box 128, Sacramento, CA 95812 916 455-8021  |
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Home | About CfER | Join / renew | Calendar | Search |
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Californians for Electoral Reform |
PO Box 128, Sacramento, CA 95812 916 455-8021 |
|
Home | About CfER | Join / renew | Calendar | Search |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Voice
for Democracy Newsletter
of Californians for Electoral Reform Fall 2005 |
|
In this Issue Citizens'
Assembly on California's Agenda All-Member
Conference Call on January 16 Call to Action: California Wants Guidelines for IRV Elections Redistricting Reform: Right Problem, Wrong Solution Tales
From the Endorsement-Seeking Trail Speakers
and Training Available Last
time I closed by saying I had run out of space to talk about San
Francisco's second successful IRV election, and the slow progress towards
IRV implementation in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, but would do so in
the next newsletter. I want to keep that promise. Citizens' Assembly on California's Agenda Two members of the California legislature will introduce a bill in January to implement a Citizens' Assembly process modeled on what was done in British Columbia last year. Learn more here. All-Member
Conference Call on January 16 Join us for a special all-member conference call on Monday, January 16, 2006 from 7:30pm to 8:30pm Pacific Time. Read the details here. To RSVP and get dial-in details, write to
or call (415) 256-9393 and leave your phone number and email address.
In an all-volunteer organization like CfER, people are our most important asset. They determine our ability to bring about change. So CfER is engaged in a major new effort to grow our organization and increase our membership. Our goal is to double our membership by the end of 2006. Find out how here. Marin Ranked Voting was formed in June of this year by a number of individuals wishing to pursue better representation of voters in Marin County. Learn more here, and visit http://www.marinrankedvoting.org. Call to Action: California Wants Guidelines for IRV Elections Write Secretary of State Bruce McPherson! Tell him county election officials want him to establish guidelines for instant runoff voting. If your city or county would like to use IRV or choice voting, tell him that, too! Secretary of State Bruce McPherson 1500 11th Street, 5th Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 Redistricting Reform: Right Problem, Wrong Solution Since November 8, there has been considerable discussion about the failure of ballot measures in California and Ohio to implement independent redistricting. Unfortunately, most of these discussions miss the point about what is wrong with our current electoral system and how to reform it. And none of them arrive at the proper conclusion, which is that it is time for America to join most other Western democracies in adopting a proportional voting system. Read more here. Tales From the Endorsement-Seeking Trail To get endorsements from public officials and candidates for office, you need access, some minimal hardware, and lots of perseverance. That’s the moral of these tales from the endorsement-seeking trail. Read the full story here. In the last issue of Voice for
Democracy, this column traversed the state from North to South. This time,
we will start in San Diego and work our way back up North again. But first,
there is one major item of statewide news that hasn’t been mentioned elsewhere
in this issue. Take
the tour here. Speakers and Training Available Would you like a speaker for a community group or a high school civics class? CfER has many excellent speakers. Or would your local chapter like some training? Most workshops are on how to speak about IRV and/or proportional voting, but we can provide workshops on almost any subject that would help a local chapter. Learn about these resources here.Californians for Electoral Reform (CfER) is a statewide citizens'
group working for election reforms to ensure that our government fairly
represents all voters. We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with members
from across the political spectrum. Our primary purpose is to promote the
implementation of election methods such as instant runoff voting (IRV) and
proportional representation. Since our founding in 1993, we have grown from two dozen members to
hundreds of activists and supporters participating in local chapters
across California. We have
participated in successful campaigns for IRV in San Francisco, Berkeley,
and Santa Clara County. Members
who are students have helped their colleges adopt instant runoff and
choice voting. We speak frequently to organizations and at public forums. For
more information about CfER, please visit CfER was established by citizens like you who think that our government should be representative of the people. A lot of progress is already being made, but the future depends on you. To join CfER, or renew your membership, please visit To find a CfER chapter coordinator in your area, please visit We will soon be able to accept contributions on our website. Meanwhile, checks payable to "Californians for Electoral Reform" or "CfER" can be mailed to the address below. Voice
for Democracy is published by P.O. Box 128 Sacramento, CA 95812 Phone: 916-455-8021 E-mail: Contents copyright Ó 2005 by Californians for Electoral Reform. Signed articles are the responsibility of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Californians for Electoral Reform. |
