FairVote Action is the advocacy arm of FairVote. The organization supports ranked-choice voting, universal voter registration, and abolition of the Electoral College, and lowering the legal age to vote to 16 years old. ^{1 2}

Background

FairVote Action is the 501(c)(4) advocacy arm of FairVote, a 501(c)(3) group that supports ranked-choice voting, universal voter registration, and abolition of the Electoral College. FairVote Action was founded in 2002, ten years after the founding of FairVote. ³

FairVote Action says its goal is “normalizing” ranked-choice voting by advocating for its adoption in 500 cities. It also advocates for passage of the Fair Representation Act that would restrict gerrymandering of Congressional districts. ⁴

Ranked Choice Voting

FairVote Action advocates for ranked choice voting ballot initiatives and legislation for local, state, and federal elections. ⁵

FairVote Action announced that it backed ranked-choice ballot measures in Redondo Beach, California and in Burlington, Vermont in 2023. ⁶

FairVote Action supported Proposition 1B, a successful ballot measure to institute ranked-choice voting in Seattle, Washington in 2022. That year, it advocated for the adoption of ranked-choice voting in Clark and San Juan counties in Washington; the city of Portland and Multnomah County in Oregon; and in Nevada, the largest state to adopt ranked-choice voting for primaries. ⁷

FairVote Action’s largest expenditure was for successfully advocating ranked-choice voting in New York City primaries for municipal offices. The organization also backed ranked choice voting in the Maryland state legislature and local and state ballot-measure efforts for ranked choice voting in California, Colorado, and Maine. ⁸

FairVote Action also advocated for the system to be used in several Democratic presidential primaries in 2020. ⁹

FairVote Action says it has contributed to the passage of ranked-choice voting in 13 cities from 2019 to 2021. It also pushed political parties in Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas and Wyoming to use it for party primaries. ¹⁰

Policy Advocacy

FairVote Action worked with Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who introduced the Fair Representation Act in 2017. The proposal would overhaul how congressional districts are drawn. ¹¹

FairVote Action also advocated for legislation introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) called the Voter Choice Act. It was included in the omnibus legislation that passed the U.S. House in 2019 and 2021. ¹²

FairVote Action also supported proposed legislation by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) to lower the legal voting age to 16. ¹³

Leadership

Rob Richie is the president and CEO of both FairVote and FairVote Action. He has been a guest on news programs for CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, MSNBC, and has written op-eds for the New York Times and Washington Post. He is the author of 11 books, including Every Vote Equal, which is critical of the Electoral College, and Whose Votes Count, about fair representation voting. ¹⁴

Lan Nguyen is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of FairVote Action. Nguyen previously worked in commercial banking and later worked for Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. She previously held administrative positions at the Health Management Academy and is the co-founder of Think Medium. ¹⁵

Yasmin Khan is the vice president of development at FairVote Action. She was previously the vice president of development at RepresentUs; chief development officer at National Skills Coalition, a workforce policy organization; and the chief development officer at the Campaign Legal Center. ¹⁶

Tom Wathen is the chairman of the board for FairVote Action. Wathen previously directed statewide Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) chapters in Indiana, Colorado, and New York.  He helped organize coalition and policy campaigns in the U.S. including the New York State bottle bill, the Colorado motor voter law, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule for national forests, and changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. He was a former executive vice president and general counsel of the National Environmental Trust and was acting president of Oceana. ¹⁷

Andrew Yang is the vice chairman of the board of FairVote Action. He was a 2020 Democratic candidate for president and 2021 candidate for New York mayor. President Barack Obama named him as a Presidential Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship. Yang is the founder of Humanity Forward and Venture for America. ¹⁸

Mark de la Iglesia is a board member for FairVote Action. He is a senior program officer at the George Soros-sponsored Open Society Foundations. He was previously the senior program manager at the National Democratic Institute. He also worked as a legislative affairs director at the U.S. Department of State and in the office of Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) as a legislative director and foreign policy adviser. ¹⁹

Purnima Chawla is a board member for FairVote Action. Chawala is the founder and principal of the Center for Nonprofit Strategies. She is the co-director of the Tools for Engaging Landowners Effectively program and works as an executive mentor at the Miller Center at Santa Clara University. ²⁰

1. “Meng Reintroduces Legislation to Lower the Voting Age in America to 16 Years Old.” January 26, 2023. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://meng.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/meng-reintroduces-legislation-to-lower-the-voting-age-in-america-to-16-0
2. FairVote Action. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/fairvote-action-fund,383650370/
3. “About Us.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/
4. “Get Involved.” FairVote. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvote.org/get-involved/
5. FairVote Action. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/fairvote-action-fund,383650370/
6. “2023 Ballot Measures.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/get-involved/ballot-measures/
7. Wang, Deborah. “‘Yes’ vote for Seattle election reform now leading.” KUOW. November 13, 2022. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.kuow.org/stories/yes-vote-in-favor-of-seattle-election-reform-now-ahead
8. FairVote Action. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/fairvote-action-fund,383650370/
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12. “About Us.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/
13. “Meng Reintroduces Legislation to Lower the Voting Age in America to 16 Years Old.” January 26, 2023. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://meng.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/meng-reintroduces-legislation-to-lower-the-voting-age-in-america-to-16-0
14. “Staff & Board.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/who-we-are/staff-board/
15. “Staff & Board.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/who-we-are/staff-board/
16. “Staff & Board.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/who-we-are/staff-board/
17. “Staff & Board.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/who-we-are/staff-board/
18. “Staff & Board.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/who-we-are/staff-board/
19. “Staff & Board.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/who-we-are/staff-board/
20. “Staff & Board.” FairVote Action. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://fairvoteaction.org/who-we-are/staff-board/