Center for Election Science
{{Short description|American nonprofit organization}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox organization
| image = File:The Center for Election Science Logo.png
| alt = A green checkmark with "The Center for Election Science" written next to it
| type = 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
| purpose = Promoting electoral reform in the United States
| headquarters = Remote/Distributed, U.S.
| founders = Clay Shentrup
Aaron Hamlin
Dr. Warren D. Smith{{Cite web|url=https://electionscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/transparency_ces_admin_annual_report_2011.pdf |title=2011 Annual Report |website=Election Science |author= |date= |publisher=The Center for Election Science |access-date=2023-07-21}}
| leader_title = Chief Executive Officer
| board_of_directors = Chair
Michael Ruvinsky
Vice Chair
John Hegeman
Treasurer
LaShana Lewis,
Secretary
Justine Metz
Directors
Tamika Anderson
Sara Ponzio
{{cite web |url=https://electionscience.org/about/meet-the-team/ |title=Meet the Team |author= |website=Election Science |publisher=The Center for Election Science |access-date=2024-02-27}}
| name = The Center for Election Science
| revenue = $2.1 million (2022){{cite web|title=2022 Annual Report |url=https://electionscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CES_Annual-Report_2022.pdf |publisher=The Center for Election Science |access-date=2023-07-20}}
| image_size = 350px
| website = [https://www.electionscience.org/ electionscience.org]
}}
The Center for Election Science is an American 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on voter education and promoting election science.{{Cite web|url=https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/813dd7cc0b274bdea0ff2c9d24590f64-the-center-for-election-science-redding|title=The Center for Election Science|website=Idealist.org|access-date=2019-11-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://ivn.us/posts/10-nonpartisan-organizations-to-watch-in-2020|title=10 Nonpartisan Organizations to Watch in 2020|last=Griffiths|first=Shawn|date=March 15, 2019|website=Independent Voter News|access-date=2019-11-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://reason.com/2018/10/26/fargo-considers-whether-to-turn-local-el/|title=Fargo Considers Whether to Turn Local Elections into a Voting System of Likes (and Dislikes)|last=Shackford|first=Scott|date=2018-10-26|website=Reason|access-date=2019-11-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://bangordailynews.com/2019/03/09/opinion/contributors/blame-democrats-not-me-for-paul-lepage-victories/|title=Blame Democrats, not me, for Paul LePage victories|last=Cutler|first=Eliot R.|date=March 9, 2019|website=Bangor Daily News|access-date=2019-11-05}} The organization promotes cardinal voting methods such as approval{{Cite web|url=https://www.electionscience.org/library/approval-voting/|title=Approval Voting|website=The Center for Election Science|access-date=2019-11-05}} and score voting.{{Cite web|url=https://www.electionscience.org/library/score-voting/|title=Score Voting|website=The Center for Election Science|access-date=2019-11-05}} They have their early roots in effective altruism.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGmtDwAAQBAJ&q=%22center+for+election+science%22&pg=PA24|title=Effective Altruism: Philosophical Issues|last1=Greaves|first1=Hilary|last2=Pummer|first2=Theron|date=2019-09-12|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780192578303|pages=24}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/14/18088514/effective-altruism-poverty-philanthropy-william-macaskill|title=How to do good better|last=Illing|first=Sean|date=2018-12-14|website=Vox|access-date=2019-11-05|quote=Another example is voting system reform. I’ll give a shoutout to an organization you covered a few weeks ago, the Center for Election Science.}}
The Center for Election Science helped pass approval voting in the city of Fargo, North Dakota, during the 2018 elections alongside Reform Fargo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/11/15/18092206/midterm-elections-vote-fargo-approval-voting-ranked-choice |title=This city just approved a new election system never tried before in America |last=Piper |first=Kelsey |date=2018-11-15 |website=Vox |access-date=2019-11-05}} In St. Louis, Missouri, the organization passed an approval voting law in 2020 with the help of St. Louis Approves.{{Cite web |date=2020-11-04 |title=St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition D, Approval Voting Initiative (November 2020) |url=https://ballotpedia.org/St._Louis,_Missouri,_Proposition_D,_Approval_Voting_Initiative_(November_2020) |access-date=2021-03-15 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://thefulcrum.us/approval-voting-st-louis|title=It's not just ranked-choice. Approval voting is also in the offing.|date=2019-06-17|website=The Fulcrum|access-date=2019-11-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://ivn.us/posts/new-poll-72-of-st-louis-voters-support-initiative-to-end-choose-one-voting|title=NEW POLL: 72% of St. Louis Voters Support Approval Voting Initiative|last=Griffiths|first=Shawn|date=November 1, 2019|website=Independent Voter News|access-date=2019-11-05}}
Organizational opinions
The Center argues that approval voting is superior to other proposed electoral reforms for multiple reasons, including accuracy, simplicity, and tractability.{{cite web |url=https://electionscience.org/voting-methods/an-assessment-of-six-single-winner-voting-methods/ |title=An Assessment of Six Single-Winner Voting Methods |last=Hamlin |first=Aaron |date=2020-05-21 |website=Election Science |publisher=The Center for Election Science |access-date=2023-07-21}} They say approval voting will elect more consensus winners, which it contends traditional runoffs and instant-runoff ranked methods don't allow, because they eliminate candidates with low first-preference support but broad support in general.{{Cite web|url=https://thefulcrum.us/meet-the-reformer-aaron-hamlin-the-man-behind-approval-voting|title=Meet the reformer: Aaron Hamlin, the man behind approval voting|date=2019-09-13|website=The Fulcrum|access-date=2019-11-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/aaron-hamlin-voting-reform/|title=Politics is way worse because we use an atrocious 18th century voting system. This guy has a viable plan to fix it.|last1=Wiblin|first1=Robert|last2=Harris|first2=Keiran|date=May 31, 2018|website=80,000 Hours|access-date=2019-11-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.electionscience.org/library/approval-voting-versus-irv/|title=Approval Voting versus IRV|website=The Center for Election Science|access-date=2019-11-05}}
They further argue that the system's adherence to the favorite betrayal criterion is highly desirable, because it allows voters to safely give their true favorite maximum support without worrying that voting insincerely could give them a better overall result.
History
The Center for Election Science was founded in 2011 by Clay Shentrup, Aaron Hamlin, and Warren D. Smith. It achieved status as a 501(c)3 in 2012 and began soliciting donations. The board of directors for that year consisted of:
- Aaron Hamlin - President
- Jan Kok - Vice President
- Dr. Andrew Jennings - Treasurer
- Clay Shentrup - Secretary
- Eric Sanders - Parliamentarian
They focused on building an online and in-person presence by writing articles and giving presentations to reform organizations, a notable event being Hamlin's interview with Kenneth Arrow of Arrow's impossibility theorem fame.{{cite web |url=https://electionscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/transparency_ces_admin_annual_report_2012.pdf |title=2012 Annual Report |author= |website=Election Science |publisher=The Center for Election Science |access-date=2023-07-21}}
In December 2017 they received a grant from Open Philanthropy totaling $598,600.{{Cite web |title=The Center for Election Science — General Support |url=https://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/the-center-for-election-science-general-support |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221209193507/https://www.goodventures.org/our-portfolio/grants/the-center-for-election-science-general-support |archive-date=2022-12-09 |access-date=2022-12-10 |website=Good Ventures}} This funding was used to hire the director, Aaron Hamlin, to a full-time position, along with a few other staff members. The organization also used this funding to support Reform Fargo in their efforts to switch Fargo elections to approval voting.{{cite web |url=https://electionscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CES_18AnnualReport_FINAL.pdf |title=2018 Annual Report |author= |website=Election Science |publisher=The Center for Election Science |access-date=2023-07-22}}
Reform Fargo was founded by Jed Limke after serving on a voting reform task force created by the City Commission. The task force recommended the City Commission switch to approval voting, but the commission refused to put the reform on the ballot. With the assistance of The Center for Election Science, Limke and others went on to run an educational campaign about approval voting. They then collected 2,600 signatures and put approval voting up for referendum. The measure appeared on the ballot on November 6, 2018, and passed with 63.5% of the vote in favor of the change.{{cite web |url=https://ivn.us/2018/08/28/looking-first-city-make-history-approval-voting |title=Are We Looking at the First City to Make History with Approval Voting? |last=Griffiths |first=Shawn |orig-date=2018-08-28 |date=2022-08-22 |website=IVN Network |publisher=Independent Voter News |access-date=2023-07-23}}{{cite web |url=https://reformfargo.org/approval-voting |title=What is Approval Voting? |author= |website=Reform Fargo |access-date=2023-07-23}}
In February 2019, the organization received a second grant from Open Philanthropy, totaling $1.8 million.{{Cite web|url=http://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/center-for-election-science-announces-1.8-million-for-approval-voting|title=Center for Election Science Announces $1.8 Million for Approval Voting|date=March 9, 2019|website=Philanthropy News Digest (PND)|access-date=2019-11-05}} This enabled them to support STL Approves in their venture to switch St. Louis to approval voting. Election Science was just one of many organizations to endorse the effort, including Show Me Integrity and The League of Women Voters.{{cite web |url=https://thefulcrum.us/voting/approval-voting-open-primaries-st-louis |title=Push for open primaries in St. Louis is good for the country |last1=Fields |first1=Jessie |last2=Opdycke |first2=John |date=2019-11-05 |website=The Fulcrum |access-date=2023-07-27}} The ballot measure put forth to switch St. Louis to approval voting, proposition D, passed on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, with 68.1% in favor.{{cite web |url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/2020-11-03/st-louis-votes-to-remake-local-elections-residency-requirement-remains |title=St. Louis Votes To Remake Local Elections, Residency Requirement Remains |last1=Lippmann |first1=Rachel |last2=Clark-Callender |first2=Becca |date=2020-11-03 |website=STLPR |publisher=NPR |access-date=2023-07-29}}
The following year, the center awarded five grants to voting reform organizations focused on Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, Missouri, and Utah. The grants were intended to fund polling and legal services for potential campaigns.{{cite web |url=https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2021-02-25/civic-engagement/approval-voting-campaign-gets-boost-in-wa/a73280-1 |title=Approval Voting Campaign Gets Boost in WA |last=Tegethoff |first=Eric |date=2021-02-25 |publisher=Public News Service |access-date=2023-07-28}}
Of those exploratory grants, Seattle eventually resulted in a ballot measure, championed by Seattle Approves, and an effort in Missouri is still underway. Due to the process by which ballot measures are adopted in Seattle, the city council added instant runoff voting as a direct rival.{{cite web |url=https://news.ballotpedia.org/2022/09/06/seattle-voters-to-decide-on-whether-to-adopt-approval-voting-or-ranked-choice-voting-for-city-primary-elections/ |title=Seattle voters to decide on whether to adopt approval voting or ranked-choice voting for city primary elections |last=Mitchell |first=Jackie |date=2022-09-06 |website=Ballotpedia News |publisher=Ballotpedia |access-date=2023-07-28}} Seattle voters elected to change their voting system by a slim margin–154,424 in favor, 148,901 against–and chose instant runoff over approval.{{cite web |url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/midterms-2022-voters-seattle-props-1a-1b-split-changes-primary-ranked-choice-leading/W7SIWUHPFNHH5DR7MU3CTYTNRE/ |title=Seattle voters poised to pass ranked choice voting initiative as group behind effort claims victory |author= |date=2022-11-16 |website=KIRO7 |access-date=2023-07-28}}
In January 2024, the center brought on Nina Taylor as chief executive officer.{{Cite web |last=Raleigh |first=Chris |date=2024-01-16 |title=Nina Taylor to Lead The Center for Election Science as New CEO |url=https://electionscience.org/ninataylorwelcome/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=The Center for Election Science |language=en-US}}
Current efforts
The center is involved in supporting Missouri Agrees, a nonprofit looking to amend the Missouri constitution and switch all elections to approval voting. Their plan is to collect signatures for a ballot initiative and convince the voters to approve the measure.{{cite web|title=Politicians spend too much time fighting each other |url=https://www.missouriagrees.org/ |author= |publisher=Missouri Agrees |access-date=2023-07-28}}
See also
References
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Category:Electoral reform groups in the United States
Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States
Category:501(c)(3) organizations