"Majority Rules", a new film about how Alaska implemented ranked choice voting will be screened at the Pickford Film Center on Sept. 1 at 3:45pm. Tickets are likely to sell out quickly so
get your tickets now. Watch the trailer
here.
Co-presented by Fair Vote Washington, the film will be followed by a discussion led by Jason Grenn, former a state legislator in Alaska and currently from Snohomish County.
From the film's description: Alaska was gearing up to do something that no other state has ever done: adopting a pair of election reforms that would eliminate traditional party primaries and allow voters to rank their candidates by preference. Just as election workers, citizens, and politicians are beginning to adapt to this new system, the state's longest-serving Congressman unexpectedly dies, creating an open seat and prompting a special election that will test this system months earlier than expected.
As dozens of candidates –including former Governor Sarah Palin– jump into the race for the highly coveted seat, everyone must learn how these new voting reforms will change the rules of campaigning and winning. The surprising outcome in that special election leads to a groundswell of support for election reform in other states and fierce pushback from political parties and partisans, just as the Alaska general election gets underway.
Veteran political documentary filmmaker AJ Schnack (Caucus, Convention) returns to the campaign trail asking whether these new Alaska reforms, an all-candidate open primary and an instant runoff general election, might be a prescription for what ails the American democratic experiment. Traveling across the country, Schnack and his crew interview reform supporters and opponents, looking at where these reforms are already in place and where they may soon be adopted. The resulting film answers two of our nation’s most pressing questions: how did the American electoral system become so dysfunctional, and can changes to how we vote change our entire system for the better?
The League of Women Voters (US) has adopted a broad position on voting systems: "We encourage electoral methods that provide the broadest representation possible and are expressive of voter choices..."