Reform Elections Now

Reform Elections Now is a nonpartisan organization of professionals concerned about the current political dysfunction that prevents government from working to solve the nation's biggest problems. We feel election reform is the key. Our mission is to facilitate election reform through education and engagement, with practical solutions that will enhance informed discourse, increase voter participation and motivate better representation by our elected officials. In addition to preparing 'white papers' on various reform initiatives, we hold monthly sessions open to all on timely relevant topics.

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Redistricting

Michael Robinson Chavez/Getty Images

Gov. Larry Hogan announced the state's first citizen-led redistricting commission on Tuesday and appointed its first three members.

Hogan makes last-minute attempt to prevent Democratic gerrymander in Maryland

Gov. Larry Hogan is making one last effort to stymie partisan gerrymandering in Maryland before the next decade's election maps are drawn.

The Republican governor announced this week the creation of the state's first-ever citizen-led redistricting commission to draft new congressional and state legislative maps. But final approval will ultimately be up to the General Assembly, which is dominated by Democrats.

In most states, partisan map manipulations have favored Republicans, but Maryland is one of the few examples of Democratic gerrymandering. Several states' election maps have been challenged in court over the last decade, including Maryland's. But the Supreme Court deflected judgement over partisan gerrymandering, saying there is no clear standard to use in evaluating the maps.

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Events

How to Change Election Rules so Voters Trust the Results

Organizer: Reform Elections Now

Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent, you should be concerned about the way we run elections and communicate the results. We cannot afford to have nearly half our voters thinking our elections are not free and fair. We cannot have our government attacked by our citizens. We cannot afford to have another election as divisive as this one.

Please join us for a discussion of how to change election rules of voting, processing, and counting so that we can rebuild the trust of all voters that elections are free and fair.

Location: Webinar

Voting

State of the State livestream

Gov. Cuomo proposed several reforms to New York's voting system during his State of the State address Monday.

Cuomo pushes plan to ease voting in New York

Acknowledging election complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a slate of reforms to ease the voting process Monday.

As part of his 2021 State of the State agenda, Cuomo wants to extend the early voting period, make voting by mail more accessible and speed up the ballot counting process. These reforms would build on election changes the state has made in recent years.

In the aftermath of the unprecedented 2020 election, many states are considering changes to their voting systems as legislative sessions begin. And the Democratic-controlled Legislature in Albany will almost certainly be supportive of expanding access to the ballot box for New York's 13.6 million voters.

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Voting

Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

Georgians encountered few problems at the polls Tuesday, the final day of voting in the Senate runoffs.

Huge stakes, few problems as Georgians cast final votes of a tumultuous year

Capping an extraordinarily complex and contentious season for democracy in a fitting way, hundreds of thousands of Georgians headed to the polls Tuesday for an unusual overtime contest with exceptional consequences.

It took five days after the 2020 campaign year ended for the final election of 2020 to finish. And the stakes of the twinned Senate runoffs could hardly be higher: whether Republicans will still control half of the Capitol, or whether Joe Biden will have a Democratic Congress at his back for his first two years as president.

The fact that the races are in Georgia, which has long been ground zero in battles over voter suppression and rickety election administration, has only heightened the tension. But as of midday, civil rights groups and others looking for big problems were not finding them.

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