Shawn Griffiths
Voters are frustrated with the state of US politics. They want a fairer system that empowers them to elect representatives who will put their interests above those of private political parties and special interests. It is becoming much more apparent to citizens that long-term solutions to the nation’s biggest problems can’t be found until we fix how voters elect public officials.
The good news is that there is a growing coalition of reformers who understand the most critical problems that keep the US political process from being truly “of, by, and for the people,” and are making historic gains to provide citizens with better elections.
The National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers (NANR) is a coalition of over 40 groups and individuals dedicated to broad systemic electoral and political reform across the country. Its stated goal is to support the advancement of “electoral reforms and strategies that increase competition, participation, and accountability in our political system.“
And, its members have racked up historic victories to offer voters elections that produce such a political system -- including 2020 campaigns from Alaska and California to Missouri and Minnesota to Maine. To better understand these campaigns and efforts, check out the two spotlight conferences (here and here) NANR co-hosted earlier this year.
NANR is hosting a two-day virtual conference on Friday, December 11, and Saturday, December 12, titled. “Winning Reforms: Wrap Up & Gear Up for 2021.” The event is a celebration of the successes its members saw in 2020, and a chance to delve deep into next steps for the reform space at-large.
Attendees can look forward to discussing election reform campaigns nationwide with:
- Independent Candidate and Entrepreneur Greg Orman
- National Vote at Home Institute CEO Amber McReynolds
- Open Primaries President John Opdycke
- Citizen Data CEO Mindy Finn
- Virginia Delegate Suhas Subramanyam
- FairVote CEO Rob Richie
- American Promise President Jeff Clements
- More Equitable Democracy Director George Cheung
And more!
The event also offers an opportunity for voters concerned with the current state of the US political industry to get up to speed on the movements to address the critical problems of a rigged electoral process manufactured to serve the private interests of two political organizations.
NANR’s event will kick off Friday, December 11, with a social event that will take a deep dive into the inside story of the biggest campaigns pushing for reform in 2020, and will provide a networking opportunity for members and non-members to connect and learn more how they might collaborate.
Saturday, December 12, will have scheduled member-hosted activities. For instance, More Choice SD, a coalition composed of several NANR members, including the Independent Voter Project (a co-publisher of IVN) will host a virtual town hall to build on the coalition and reach a general agreement on what reform initiative campaign for in San Diego, California, in 2022.
That is just one of several activities that will happen on December 12.
Interested in open primaries? Ranked choice voting? Campaign finance reform? Anti-gerrymandering reform? Want to join any of the efforts behind these reforms or other reforms? Register for the NANR event here and stay tuned for additional coverage of “Winning Reforms: Wrap Up & Gear Up for 2021”.