Week 12: Best Response to Callais: Proportional Representation!

Dear Colorado Voter,

I hope to see many of you Colorado readers this Saturday midday in Highlands Ranch for a Forward Party Meet and Greet with me, U.S. Senate candidate Bob Chew, and U.S. House (CD4) unaffiliated candidate Tim Veldhuizen. Details here: https://www.coloradoforwardparty.com/meet_greet_may9

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled on Louisiana v Callais. The media describes the decision as "gutting" the Voting Rights Act. The decision doesn't take away the right to vote, as one might think at first glance, but it does take away a right to fair representation for racial minority groups. This is an important distinction! (I'll discuss voter disenfranchisement in Colorado in a future email.)

I and others who work in the "better representation" space have pointed out that the best response to the SCOTUS ruling is proportional representation. See my May 4th and April 30th social media posts.

The SCOTUS ruling reminds us that single-winner elections are inherently winner-take-all and are primed for gerrymandering. A better way to elect a legislature is to elect multiple members in a single ballot contest and use a proportional voting method!

Here's the math: When electing 1 person, we like the winner to get more than 1/2 of the vote. Expanding on this, when electing 2 people, a proportional result means that each winner gets support from more than 1/3 of the electorate. When electing 3 people, a proportional result means each winner gets support from more than 1/4 of the electorate. Elect n people, get support from more than 1/(n+1) of the electorate.

With proportional representation for U.S. House seats, Colorado could be divided into a 5-member Front Range district and a 3-member (everywhere else) district. A Republican living in Denver could help elect a Republican and feel represented. The last time a Republican was elected to represent the 1st Congressional District (Denver) was 1970!

On a different topic, here is a campaign finance update: Of the 7 SoS candidates, only the 2 Democrats and I reported any funds in the May 4th filing. One D raised $305K total and has $100K on hand. The other D has raised $184K and has $63K on hand. Meanwhile, I raised $22K and have $10K on hand. Thank you to all the people who contributed to my campaign!

With enthusiasm and purpose,

Celeste