ALTERNATIVE VOTING SYSTEMS

Political geographers interested in alternative voting systems should note the work being done by the Center for Voting and Democracy (P.O. Box 60037, Washington, D.C. 20039; Phone: (301) 270-4616). Established in 1992, the Center conducts research and promotes voting systems which encourage participation and electoral fairness - primarily proportional representation systems. For example, it assisted Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in drafting the first federal bill promoting proportional representation in decades. The Center's staff has had articles in the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times this past year and has articles to be featured in Ms. Magazine, The Nation and Social Policy in the coming year.

The Center's Executive Director is Robert Richie who may be reached by email at cvdusa@aol.com. Others involved in the Center's work are former presidential candidate John Anderson, civil rights lawer Ed Still, and political scientist Wilma Rule, to name only a few on a long list.

Webmeister's Note

In adition to the director's email address, you can reach The Center for Voting and Democracy at it's WWW site (http://open.igc.org/cvd). It is an informative site, complete with links to other sites that have information on local (USA) and international proportional representation systems.