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Open Primaries National Virtual Discussion
May 13 2020
Organizer: Open Primaries
Join our call to hear about the movement for change in St. Louis. St. Louis is one of only a few remaining major cities that conduct partisan municipal elections. Candidates regularly come into office with a minority of the vote. The STL Approves Campaign is hoping to change that. STL Approves' "Proposition D for Democracy" has recently been certified for the 2020 November ballot This comes after organizers collected 20,000 signatures, twice as many as were needed to qualify. 72% of voters now support the measure. Prop D would accomplish two important goals for voters:
- End partisan primaries and replace them with an open, top-two nonpartisan primary in which all voters vote and all candidates compete.
- Institute approval voting, an innovative form of voting where citizens "approve" of as many candidates as they want.
Please join us to hear about how this important campaign is hoping to dismantle barriers and build a better future for St. Louis. We'll be joined by Campaign Chair Benjamin Singer, local civil rights leader and supporter Reverend Darryl Gray, and campaign partner and national expert on approval voting Aaron Hamlin, the Executive Director of the Center for Election Science.
Location: Webinar
Open Primaries National Virtual Discussion
Apr 27 2020
Organizer: Open Primaries
Join a discussion with Jacqueline Salit, president of Independent Voting, and Thom Reilly, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education. They are co-authors of a chapter in the recently published "Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People." Their chapter ("Can Independent Voters Save American Democracy?) explores how the rapid rise of independent voters will have lasting effects on our politics and system of representative government.
Location: Virtual
Open Primaries National Virtual Discussion
Apr 27 2020
Organizer: Open Primaries
Join a discussion with Michael Hardy, general counsel for the National Action Network, Harry Kresky, counsel to Independent Voting, and Open Primaries SVP Jeremy Gruber. They are co-authors of the Touro Law Review article "Let All Voters Vote: Independents and the Expansion of Voting Rights in the United States." It is a comprehensive review of the legal fights and precedents that shape the current controversy around primary reform and nonpartisan electoral systems. It begins and ends with making the case that fully enfranchising independents is the next step in the expansion of voting rights in the United States.
Location: Virtual
Research Roundup: How top two open primaries are disrupting politics as usual in California ... and beyond
Apr 27 2020
Organizer: Open Primaries
Join a discussion with USC professor Christian Grose and Stanford University professor Charles Munge Jr., authors of several groundbreaking studies on the impact of the adoption of top two open primaries in California in 2010. Both authors conclude that the reform was successful, resulting in increased electoral competition, responsive politicians, increased voter participation and an overall healthier political culture. The Schwarzenegger Institute is co-sponsoring this event.
Location: Virtual
