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Equal Vote Coalition
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Equal Vote Coalition
The Equal Vote Coalition (EVC) is a nonpartisan American electoral reform group that advocates for voting methods including STAR Voting, Approval Voting, and Condorcet voting.
The Equal Vote Coalition argues that Choose One Plurality voting is inherently unequal, leading to an outsized influence of money in politics, hyper-partisan rancor, and widespread electoral disenchantment.
The Equal Vote Coalition's work focuses on educating voters about voting rules and coalition-building in the electoral reform movement. The coalition hosts events such as webinars, monthly chapter meetings, and informational events to engage and mobilize activists.
The Equal Vote Coalition was established in 2014 by Mark Frohnmayer following his 2014 voting reform campaign to implement the Unified Primary system in Oregon, which incorporated a nonpartisan Approval Voting primary with a top-two runoff. The Unified Primary system has since been adopted in St. Louis.
As its first event, the Equal Vote Coalition hosted an Equal Vote Conference at the University of Oregon which included leading advocates for Approval Voting, Ranked Choice Voting, Score Voting, and leaders in the Oregon voting reform movement including advocates for Oregon's Vote by Mail initiative. At the time, the reform community was very split between advocates for ordinal voting methods and cardinal voting methods, with both sides arguing that the other side's proposals were unworkable. The debate led to the idea for what is now known as the STAR Voting method, which is a hybrid of the two approaches.
In 2017, preliminary studies modeling Voter Satisfaction Efficiency from the Center For Election Science showed STAR Voting significantly outperforming both Ranked Choice and Approval Voting in both producing accurate outcomes and incentivizing honest non-strategic voting.[1] The models also showed that a 0-5 ballot performed as well as larger scales, which led the Equal Vote Coalition to adopt the 0-5 star ballot and to name the method STAR Voting. Shortly after, the Equal Vote Coalition coalitioned with a number of other Oregon electoral reform organizations which had voted to support STAR Voting, including RCV Oregon, and the Oregon chapter of Represent.Us, and launched twin ballot initiatives to implement STAR Voting in Lane County and Multnomah County, respectively.
The Equal Vote Coalition was incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit in 2019. by Sara Wolk, Alan Zundel, and Mark Frohnmayer. Initially focused in Oregon, the coalition has since expanded its efforts across the United States and internationally, engaging with researchers and activists to promote voting equality. In 2020 the STAR Voting Action 501c4 nonprofit was founded to focus on advocacy and campaigns for STAR Voting more specifically.
STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) voting is the flagship initiative of the Equal Vote Coalition. In STAR Voting, voters score candidates from 5 stars (best) to 0 stars (worst). The two highest-scoring candidates overall proceed to an automatic runoff in which each voter's vote automatically goes to the finalist that voter preferred. The finalist with the most votes wins. This method aims to eliminate vote splitting, which they argue will encourage more positive campaigning and fairer elections.
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Equal Vote Coalition
The Equal Vote Coalition (EVC) is a nonpartisan American electoral reform group that advocates for voting methods including STAR Voting, Approval Voting, and Condorcet voting.
The Equal Vote Coalition argues that Choose One Plurality voting is inherently unequal, leading to an outsized influence of money in politics, hyper-partisan rancor, and widespread electoral disenchantment.
The Equal Vote Coalition's work focuses on educating voters about voting rules and coalition-building in the electoral reform movement. The coalition hosts events such as webinars, monthly chapter meetings, and informational events to engage and mobilize activists.
The Equal Vote Coalition was established in 2014 by Mark Frohnmayer following his 2014 voting reform campaign to implement the Unified Primary system in Oregon, which incorporated a nonpartisan Approval Voting primary with a top-two runoff. The Unified Primary system has since been adopted in St. Louis.
As its first event, the Equal Vote Coalition hosted an Equal Vote Conference at the University of Oregon which included leading advocates for Approval Voting, Ranked Choice Voting, Score Voting, and leaders in the Oregon voting reform movement including advocates for Oregon's Vote by Mail initiative. At the time, the reform community was very split between advocates for ordinal voting methods and cardinal voting methods, with both sides arguing that the other side's proposals were unworkable. The debate led to the idea for what is now known as the STAR Voting method, which is a hybrid of the two approaches.
In 2017, preliminary studies modeling Voter Satisfaction Efficiency from the Center For Election Science showed STAR Voting significantly outperforming both Ranked Choice and Approval Voting in both producing accurate outcomes and incentivizing honest non-strategic voting.[1] The models also showed that a 0-5 ballot performed as well as larger scales, which led the Equal Vote Coalition to adopt the 0-5 star ballot and to name the method STAR Voting. Shortly after, the Equal Vote Coalition coalitioned with a number of other Oregon electoral reform organizations which had voted to support STAR Voting, including RCV Oregon, and the Oregon chapter of Represent.Us, and launched twin ballot initiatives to implement STAR Voting in Lane County and Multnomah County, respectively.
The Equal Vote Coalition was incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit in 2019. by Sara Wolk, Alan Zundel, and Mark Frohnmayer. Initially focused in Oregon, the coalition has since expanded its efforts across the United States and internationally, engaging with researchers and activists to promote voting equality. In 2020 the STAR Voting Action 501c4 nonprofit was founded to focus on advocacy and campaigns for STAR Voting more specifically.
STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) voting is the flagship initiative of the Equal Vote Coalition. In STAR Voting, voters score candidates from 5 stars (best) to 0 stars (worst). The two highest-scoring candidates overall proceed to an automatic runoff in which each voter's vote automatically goes to the finalist that voter preferred. The finalist with the most votes wins. This method aims to eliminate vote splitting, which they argue will encourage more positive campaigning and fairer elections.