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Non-profit

FairVote Minnesota

Website:

www.fairvotemn.org/
Location:

Saint Paul, MN
Tax ID:

01-0911420
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(4)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $983,309
Expenses: $1,126,962
Assets: $22,795
Founded:

2007 1

References

  1. “Mission.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/mission/

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FairVote Minnesota promotes ranked choice voting in Minnesota. 1 It is loosely affiliated with the national group, FairVote. The organization has pushed several local jurisdictions—including both Twin Cities—to adopt ranked choice voting. 2 In 2023, the group began pushing the Minnesota state legislature to adopt the system statewide. 3

Critics of the group say it lacks transparency about its funding. 4 5 The largest known donor to the organization is John Arnold, a Houston hedge-fund manager. 6

Background

FairVote Minnesota promotes ranked choice voting in Minnesota. 7 It is an outgrowth of FairVote, a national pro-ranked choice voting organization. 8

FairVote Minnesota was founded in 2007 as a 501(c)(4) lobbying arm of the 501(c)(3) education organization FairVote Minnesota Foundation, which was founded in 1996. 9

The organization has advocated for legislation in the Minnesota Legislature to require the use of ranked choice voting for state and federal elections and allow localities to adopt the system for local elections. 10

Campaigns

In 2009, FairVote Minnesota decided to push ranked choice voting (RCV) on the ballot in Minneapolis. The measure passed and it was implemented in 2012. 11 In 2013, the group was the lead organizer for voters using RCV in the Minneapolis mayor’s race. 12

In 2020, the board decided to identify state legislators and candidates who would support RCV. Politico credited the group’s spending with helping to flip the Minnesota state Senate to the Democrats in 2022 for a Democratic “trifecta,” in the governor’s office, the House and Senate, making adoption of RCV more likely. 13

In 2021, the organization advocated for ranked choice voting in Bloomington and Minnetonka through ballot measures. It succeeded, and the next year, the two cities used this for electing mayors and members of the city council. 14 RCV was also adopted in St. Louis Park, Minnesota by a City Council vote. 15

Controversies

Spending

By mid-April 2023, the organization spent about $1.3 million in what critics called “dark money,” to attempt to push the new voting system through the state Legislature. 16

The largest contributor to the organization is John Arnold, a Houston hedge fund manager. He also contributed to More Voices Minnesota to advance RCV. 17

In 2015, voters in Duluth, Minnesota soundly defeated a FairVote Minnesota-backed ballot measure to adopt RCV by a 3-1 margin. RCV opponents in Duluth objected to the lack of transparency from the group and where its funding was coming from. In 2016, an administrative law judge ordered the organization to file a revised campaign finance report with the Duluth city clerk’s office. FairVote and the Duluth Better Ballot Campaign Committee together spent $181,000 to promote ranked-choice voting in 2015. 18

Union Relations

In April 2021, the group voluntarily recognized a local union of the NewsGuild-CWA (TNG-CWA Local 37002) as representing its workers. However, union supporters criticized the organization in 2021 for firing five employees on the first day of a union bargaining contract. This was at odds with the organization’s values, argued one of the fired employees Audra Waylett, who said: “Unions are the cornerstone of democracy. And this is an organization that claims to care very much about democracy.” FairVote Minnesota responded that the employees were hired with an understanding their work was temporary and would end after the campaign and legislative sessions. Waylett disputed this. Hundreds signed a petition supporting the fired employees. 19

In September 2021, FairVote Minnesota announced it “publicly apologizes to organizing workers for how the layoffs were handled, recognizing that the staff were not expected to be laid off, and is pleased to be able to recall affected employees.” 20

People

As of 2023, Jeanne Massey was the executive director of FairVote Minnesota. 21 She is a former urban planner in Minneapolis. Politico describes her as a “liberal Democrat.” She began advocating for RCV because she was disturbed by elections where a candidate won without a majority of the popular vote. She specifically referred to President George W. Bush’s win without the popular vote in 2000 and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura’s victory in 1998 with 37 percent of the vote in a three-way race. 22

Maureen Reed was the board chair for FairVote Minnesota. 23 She is a retired physician who worked in public health. 24

References

  1. “FairVote Minnesota Foundation.” Cause IQ. Accessed April 20, 2023.https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/fairvote-minnesota-foundation,411924245/
  2. “FairVote Minnesota Foundation.” Cause IQ. Accessed April 20, 2023.https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/fairvote-minnesota-foundation,411924245/
  3.  “Our Work.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/work/
  4. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
  5. Passi, Peter. “Ranked-choice campaign revisited.” Duluth News Tribune. January 17, 2016. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/ranked-choice-campaign-revisited
  6. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
  7. “FairVote Minnesota Fondation.” Cause IQ. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/fairvote-minnesota-foundation,411924245/
  8. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
  9. “Mission.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/mission/
  10. “Our Work.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/work/
  11. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
  12. “Mission.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/mission/
  13. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
  14. “Our Work.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/work/
  15. “Mission.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/mission/
  16. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
  17. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
  18. Passi, Peter. “Ranked-choice campaign revisited.” Duluth News Tribune. January 17, 2016. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/ranked-choice-campaign-revisited
  19. Stager, Amie. “The ‘FairVote Five’ Fired after Forming a Union.” Workday Magazine. July 29, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://workdaymagazine.org/the-fairvote-five-fired-after-forming-a-union/
  20. Press Release. “FairVote Minnesota and FairVote Minnesota Union (TNG-CWA 37002) Jointly Announce Organization’s Commitment to Union Workers.” September 3, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/2021/09/03/fairvote-minnesota-and-fairvote-minnesota-union-tng-cwa-37002-jointly-announce-organizations-commitment-to-union-workers/
  21. “People.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 23, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/people/
  22. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
  23. “People.” FairVote Minnesota. Accessed April 23, 2023. https://fairvotemn.org/people/
  24. Traub, James. “The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground.” Politico. April 16, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: July 1, 2009

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $983,309 $1,126,962 $22,795 $247,111 N $983,273 $0 $36 $70,437
    2019 Dec Form 990 $250,321 $640,144 $23,245 $103,908 N $250,282 $0 $39 $48,713 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $539,424 $419,943 $342,235 $33,074 N $539,250 $0 $174 $43,803 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $269,205 $179,442 $189,678 $0 N $266,542 $2,553 $110 $21,859 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $337,213 $237,594 $114,341 $14,426 N $337,041 $0 $172 $33,703 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $299,467 $317,115 $4,445 $4,149 N $300,755 $0 $52 $27,788 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $114,720 $102,129 $18,092 $150 N $114,719 $0 $1 $23,628 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $71,407 $44,114 $5,496 $150 N $71,405 $0 $2 $17,180 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $45,488 $59,917 $8,447 $30,396 N $45,485 $0 $3 $27,058 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $18,670 $36,763 $9,092 $16,614 N $18,658 $0 $12 $19,767 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    FairVote Minnesota

    550 Vandalia Street, Suite 210
    Saint Paul, MN 55114-1990