As we near the one-year anniversary of our inaugural FairVote Awards at City Winery in New York City, we’re looking back on some of our favorite moments from the event. At the gathering, we took the opportunity to celebrate our movement and show our appreciation for a few people who have been working to make progress on crucial reforms.
We honored Kathryn Murdoch with the Voter Champion Award. As the president of Quadrivium, she observed how the incentive structures that are built into single-choice elections negatively impact our ability to address issues that truly matter to the American people. She has partnered with Unite America to create real structural improvements, and her philanthropic work has contributed to redistricting reform in numerous states. She has also helped win progress for RCV in states like Alaska, Utah, and Virginia, and has supported the work of fellow organizations in the voting reform space.
We honored Andrew Yang with the American Democracy Leader Award. Andrew Yang has worked to break partisan divides to address issues faced by many Americans. He has become the single most prominent advocate for RCV and joined the FairVote Action Board of Directors. He now travels the country promoting structural reforms for our democracy.
We honored Katrina vanden Heuvel with the Voice for American Democracy Award. Katrina vanden Heuvel has been an active voice for effective democracy reform throughout FairVote’s decades of impact. She has served as editor of The Nation magazine, as a columnist for The Washington Post , and as a frequent cable news guest. She has advocated for the end of winner-take-all elections, supported ranked choice voting, and promoted an electoral system that allows all votes to truly matter.
Aside from these incredible honorees, we were privileged to be joined by the SING Harlem Choir, CNN’s John Avlon, Unite America’s Nick Troiano, and Color of Change’s Rashad Robinson. Additionally, Danielle Allen of Harvard received special recognition for her work on the Our Common Purpose report with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which spotlights RCV and multi-member districts as key ways to improve the voting experience.
The FairVote Awards were such a success that we plan to hold them biennially, with our next awards coming in June 2024 in New York City. We’ll have much to celebrate. We’re more optimistic than ever about what we can do together to put voters and our nation first – our 2022 overview of RCV progress and year-end letter help explain why. We’d welcome your support for our efforts to advance better elections today with your volunteer time and a donation. There is much work to be done between now and our 2024 awards!