Starts:

Tuesday May 21, 2024

    12:00 PM

Ends:

    2:00 PM

*For non-member event reservations: please email pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org or telephone (202) 232-7363 Ext. 402 (voicemails will also be accepted).*

Several groups of election reform activists are working to place Initiative 83 on the 2024 DC general election ballot to establish Rank Choice Voting and open primaries in all elections. Other groups are saying: “Not so fast!” The D.C. Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit aiming to keep a ranked choice voting and open primaries initiative from getting onto the city’s ballot in 2024, saying that both changes to how D.C. runs its elections would run afoul of the city’s charter and the U.S. Constitution.

Last summer, elected officials in Rockville, MD opted to keep a question on ranked choice voting off an advisory referendum that was held in November 2023 largely over concerns that most voters did not understand how it works. The objective of this program is to provide attendees with information that will help them to make an informed decision on these important issues.

Featured Panelists: Nadia Tawfiq, FairVote; Deirdre Brown, Metropolitan Women's Democratic Club; Deb Otis, FairVote.

Deirdre Brown is a 3rd generation Washingtonian, parent, housing advocate, and small business owner. She is a former ANC Commissioner for 3F04, is a current Ward 3 Democratic Party Precinct Delegate. She is active with local organizations that advocate on behalf of women and children. Deirdre received her Juris Doctor from UDC, David A. Clarke School of Law where she worked 727 law clinic hours advocating for District residents. A Palisades resident, she has five children.

Deb Otis is the Director of Research and Policy at FairVote. With a decade of experience in research and analytics, Deb is passionate about sharing the data-driven case for why our country needs election reform. In addition to ranked choice voting and proportional representation, Deb’s areas of research include comparative electoral systems, political polarization, redistricting, representation for women and people of color, the electoral college, and election recounts.