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The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act Decision Will Fuel the “Disuniting” of the United States and the Unraveling of American Democracy

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Meet the change leaders: John Palmer

John Palmer
Courtesy John Palmer
David L. Nevins
By David L. NevinsMay 15, 2024
David L. Nevins
David L. Nevins serves as publisher of The Fulcrum. Additionally, Nevins serves as co-founder and Board Chairman of the Bridge Alliance. Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process. As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action. He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded anyone organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.” He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, he established and continues to work with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program at Penn State University. Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.
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David Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

John Palmer is long-time electoral reform advocate supportive of a more level playing field for candidates outside the two major parties. He sits on the board of the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers, an umbrella organization for democracy reform, and currently chairs the board of Rank the Vote, an organization promoting the adoption of ranked-choice voting nationally.

Palmer and his wife, Mary, were significant financial supporters of the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, the Maine-based organization that led the 2016 campaign resulting in passage of the first statewide use of RCV.

Palmer has supported various other democracy reform organizations and efforts, including American Promise, FairVote, the ProRep Coalition, RepresentUs and UniteAmerica.

Professionally, Palmer is co-founder of Hanover Partners, a San Francisco private equity firm. He currently serves on the boards of two companies in Hanover’s portfolio and has served on the boards of 12 previous Hanover companies.

The Palmers live in San Francisco with three children, and they spend significant time in Maine during the summer.

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Palmer in April for the CityBiz “Meet the Change Leaders” series. Watch to learn the full extent of his democracy reform work:

The Fulcrum interviews John Palmer, Chairman of Rank the Votewww.youtube.com


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The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could reshape presidential elections as Midwest states debate Electoral College reform, political polarization, and the future of winner-take-all voting in America.

Getty Images, SDI Productions

700+ Proposed Amendments Failed, Midwest Voters Can Succeed

The Midwest served as the vanguard and ideological heartland of the Progressive Era, acting as a crucial laboratory for political, social, and economic reforms that later adopted national significance. Midwestern states (the cradle of the movement) pioneered anti-monopoly efforts, democratic, and social improvements.

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DC voting rights advocate Lisa D.T. Rice criticized the DC City Council for failing to fund Initiative 83’s semi-open primary system, leaving 85,000 independent voters unable to participate in taxpayer-funded primaries despite overwhelming voter approval in 2024.

Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Lisa D.T. Rice spoke before the DC City Council during a Budget Oversight Hearing on May 1 to talk about Initiative 83, the semi-open primary and ranked choice voting measure she proposed that was approved by 73% of voters in 2024.

- YouTube youtu.be

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The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision Could Reshape Local Government Across Texas

A landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act could reshape Latino and Black political representation in Texas. Guillermo Ramos and other leaders warn the decision may weaken protections against discriminatory election systems in school boards and city councils.

The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision Could Reshape Local Government Across Texas

Guillermo Ramos remembers seeing few elected leaders who looked like him while he was growing up in the 1980s in Farmers Branch, a fast-growing affluent suburb northwest of Dallas.

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zimmytws/Getty Images

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