In the News

Legislative wrap: Controversial bills are taking center stage

Originally published in Deseret News | Politics | Feb. 22, 2022 “Two election bills passed the House Government Operations committee, both sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan. HB202 changes the threshold for signature gatherers to the current number or 3% of the registered voters of the qualified political party where the candidate resides,…

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Op-Ed: Can STAR and Approval Voting Fix Our Elections?

“My vote doesn’t matter.” “They’re two sides of the same coin.” “If I vote my conscience I risk wasting my vote.” These are just some of the sentiments we hear when talking to people across the country about voting. According to a recent Ipsos survey, 53% of non-voters and 24% of voters in…

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Election Reform and Anti-Corruption Town Hall Recap

Hosted by Utah Approves | Utah Election Reform Coalition | Apr. 27, 2022 Watch our Utah Election Reform and Anti-Corruption Town Hall Recap! “We’re currently led by a wealthy out-of-touch elite class that’s incentivized by a faulty election system. Today, we’re going to be talking about what caused this landscape, the problems…

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We Are Utah Podcast

Originally published on We Are Utah | Mar. 30, 2022 Imagine an election where the candidate with the highest approval rating wins. No games, no spoilers, no more feeling forced to choose the lesser of two evils. We can make that happen. Nate Allen – Executive Director Nate earned his associate’s degree…

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Seeking Approval in Utah (with Nate Allen)

Originally published on How to Win Friends and Save the Republic | National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers | Mar. 18, 2022 We’re joined by Nate Allen, founder and Executive Director of Utah Approves, to discuss Approval Voting and his perspective on changing the incentives of our elections. Listen now

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Innovating for the Next Generation of Voters

Originally published on YouTube | Hinckley Institute of Politics | Feb. 2, 2022 Watch our Director of Advocacy, Ammon Gruwell, give a presentation on Approval Voting at the Hinckley Institute of Politics! “One of the biggest benefits of Approval Voting is higher voter satisfaction. Since you can support any candidate that you…

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Letter: Approval voting can strengthen existing political parties

Originally published in The Standard Examiner | Letters | Jan. 6, 2022 Many Americans are dissatisfied with the political status quo that is dominated by Republicans and Democrats. Other parties such as the Libertarian Party, Green Party, Constitution Party, and the Working Families Party, put in the work to organize and nominate…

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Letter: Actually, approval voting is more expressive

Originally published in The Salt Lake Tribune | Public Forum | Dec. 7, 2021 I was discouraged to see a disingenuous take in a recent letter on the action by legislators to knock down adding approval voting to the municipal alternative voting methods pilot project, which is testing methods to inform a conversation on…

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Ranked choice voting. Passing fad, or here to stay?

Originally published in The Salt Lake Tribune | Nov. 2, 2021 It won’t be smooth sailing for ranked choice supporters next year. Some lawmakers would very much like to repeal the pilot program. Former Rep. Steve Christiansen was working on legislation to eliminate the ranked choice voting and vote-by-mail in Utah. Others…

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Letter: While ranked-choice stalls out, approval voting gains steam

Originally published in The Salt Lake Tribune | Public Forum | Oct. 26, 2021 You may have seen that the recent ballot initiative which would have implemented ranked-choice voting statewide was withdrawn due to a lack of on-the-ground organization. As disappointing as this may seem to supporters of reforming our election process, there is…

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Approval Voting: Why Force Voters to Choose?

Originally published on BYU Radio | Top of Mind with Julie Rose | Sep. 21, 2021 New York recently became the largest city to use ranked-choice voting in a city-wide election. There’s another form of voting we just learned about called Approval Voting. And for this form of voting, voters don’t pick…

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Op-Ed: Approval voting will help end the political duopoly

Originally published in The Salt Lake Tribune | Special to The Tribune | May 14, 2021 Imagine you walk into a shoe store and the only two options available are snow boots and flip-flops, and there’s a big sign hanging overhead saying “choose only one.” You would be shocked at both the…

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Letter: Approval voting can help solve our political problems

Originally published in The Salt Lake Tribune | Public Forum | Feb. 14, 2021 With our country deeply divided over politics, we need to reward leaders who avoid divisiveness and extremism. Unfortunately, our current electoral system rewards extremists who grab attention and promise to fight their political adversaries. One simple change in…

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Approval Voting Bill On Hold

The bill that would add Approval Voting to the state’s pilot program is being held for now, pending a summer study. Our representatives want to learn more and we’ll be working hard to answer their questions. The Government Operations Interim Committee will decide whether or not to recommend Approval Voting favorably to…

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