The Fair Representation and Voting Reform Act
To Establish Ranked-Choice Voting and De-emphasize Political Party Systems
Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to:
(a) Establish ranked-choice voting as the primary electoral system for federal, state, and local elections, ensuring fair representation and reducing polarization.
(b) Eliminate the dominance of political parties by removing party affiliation from ballots and empowering voters to choose candidates based on merit and platform.
(c) Create a system that encourages collective decision-making and reflects the will of the people.
Findings
Congress finds that:
(a) The two-party system has contributed to increasing political polarization, limiting voter choice, and prioritizing party interests over the needs of the public.
(b) Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank candidates by preference, ensuring winners have broad support and reducing the impact of “spoiler” candidates.
(c) By removing party affiliation from ballots, voters are encouraged to focus on candidates’ qualifications, ideas, and values rather than partisan identities.
Implementation of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV)
(a) Ranked-choice voting shall be implemented for all federal, state, and local elections.
(i) Voters may rank candidates in order of preference (e.g., first choice, second choice, third choice).
(ii) If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to the next-ranked choice on each ballot.
(iii) This process continues until one candidate has a majority of votes.
Removal of Party Affiliation from Ballots
(a) Federal, state, and local ballots shall no longer display candidates’ party affiliations.
(b) Candidates may still associate with parties in their campaigns, but ballots will list only their names, office sought, and any brief statement of qualification approved by the election commission.
Campaign Finance Reform
(a) To further reduce party dominance and undue influence, campaign finance laws shall be amended to:
(i) Prohibit direct funding of candidates by political parties.
(ii) Establish public funding options for campaigns to ensure equal access to resources for all candidates.
(iii) Require full transparency in campaign contributions and expenditures.
Educational Outreach and Voter Training
(a) The Federal Election Commission (FEC) shall oversee an educational campaign to inform voters about ranked-choice voting, including how it works and how it benefits democratic participation.
(b) Educational materials shall emphasize evaluating candidates based on policies, platforms, and qualifications rather than party affiliation.
Establishment of a Collective Platform
(a) A publicly funded digital platform shall be created to allow candidates and voters to interact without reliance on party structures.
(i) This platform shall provide candidates equal space to share their positions, debate policies, and communicate with voters.
(ii) Voters may use the platform to compare candidates’ platforms and rank them based on alignment with their values.
Penalties for Election Interference
(a) Any entity attempting to manipulate ranked-choice voting outcomes through fraud, misinformation, or undue influence shall face:
(i) Severe financial penalties, and
(ii) Potential criminal prosecution for individuals or organizations involved.
Severability
If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof, is found to be invalid, the remainder of the Act and its application to other provisions shall not be affected.
(in other words: If any part of this law is found to be invalid or doesn’t apply to a specific situation or person, the rest of the law will still remain in effect and apply to everything else)
Effective Date
This Act shall take effect on January 1, [XXXX], and shall apply to all elections conducted after that date.
