Building a More Equitable Democracy with Colin Cole

Join Chris Hughes and Tiffany Montemayor as they sum up RCVRC's summer and preview the fall 2026 elections! Resources mentioned in the episode: Center for Civic Design Home Stretch Resources: https://civicdesign.org/tools/election-home-stretch/ RCVRC RCV Blueprint: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OYHu1PWx48Q15LGmrm8nA1L9woiPWl7aSJzCgtZPxZA/edit?usp=sharing Democracy Docket's Litigation Tracker: https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/ Sign up for our newsletter! https://www.rcvresources.org/subscribe

Colin Cole, Director of Policy, Outreach, and Communications at More Equitable Democracy and co-host of MED’s podcast the Future of Our Former Democracy, joins Chris to talk about the newest season of his podcast and MED’s work across the country. Resources mentioned in this episode: More Equitable Democracy: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/ The Future of Our Former Democracy: https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/the-future-of-our-former-democracy American Troubles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfbN2yVF7cY Democracy World Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcpFzBa3DZk

Lavar Henderson, 2025–2026 Student Body President at Louisiana State University, joins Chris to talk about ranked choice voting at LSU! Listen in as they discuss the history of RCV at LSU, campaign tactics in RCV, and how to resolve contested elections. Note: This podcast was recorded in early March. LSU's student government elections were held earlier this month, but after the podcast was recorded. FairVote Page on RCV on College Campuses: https://fairvote.org/our-reforms/ranked-choice-voting-information/?section=rcv-in-campus-elections State senators go to bat for LSU student government candidates accused of frat food bribery - 2025 LSU Elections: https://lailluminator.com/2025/03/17/state-senators-go-to-bat-for-lsu-student-government-candidates-accused-of-frat-food-bribery/ LSU Elections Commission: https://www.lsu.edu/sg/get-involved/elections.php

Chris Donnay, a mathematician and data scientist who studies election methods, joins Chris to talk about ranked ballots on RuPaul's Drag Race! Listen in as they discuss the Rate-A-Queen twist the show has used for the last few seasons, figure out just how each queen's ranked ballot is getting counted, and talk Drag Queen campaign strategy. Resources mentioned in this episode: Gold Derby Article Discussing this Research! - https://www.goldderby.com/reality-tv/2026/rupauls-drag-race-rate-a-queen-voting-method-decoded/ VoteKit - https://mggg.org/posts/votekit VoteKit Documentation - https://votekit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ Electoral college ties: https://ballotpedia.org/What_happens_if_there_is_a_tie_in_the_Electoral_College%3F_(2024) Tiebreaking Laws in the US: https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/resolving-tied-elections-for-legislative-offices Portland, ME Tie in 2021: https://abcnews.com/Politics/tied-city-council-race-portland-maine-decided-drawing/story?id=80976792

Michelle Whittaker, Executive Director of Ranked Choice Voting Maryland and Communications Director at Rank the Vote, joins Chris to talk about how she and Ranked Choice Voting Maryland prepare for legislative session and stay motivated to keep chipping away at big, immovable objects (like state legislatures). Resources: Maryland General Assembly Calendar: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/Pubs/Other/2026rs-Session-dates.pdf RCV Maryland Legislative Priorities: https://rcvmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/RCVMD-Legislative-Priorities-2026.pdf

Sally Hudson, Executive Director of Ranked Choice Virginia, joins Chris to talk about Charlottesville, Virginia's use of proportional RCV this summer and how PRCV changes how power gets used in a democracy.

Grace Ramsey, Co-Director of Democracy Rising, joins Chris to talk about socializing new forms of democracy and using community organizing principles in voter education. Resources mentioned in this episode: Portland, OR RCV FAQ: https://www.portland.gov/vote/ranked-choice-voting Democracy Rising: https://www.wearedemocracyrising.org/

Join Hosts Chris and Kelly as they launch the new season of RCV Clips. They talk about summer travels, RCV in this political moment, and set the stage for an exciting season of learning more about the basics of RCV and its place in the democracy landscape.

In this episode of RCV Clips, co-hosts Kelly and Chris discuss the upcoming ranked choice voting (RCV) elections in Charlottesville, Virginia, and New York City. They explore the implementation of RCV in Charlottesville, including its proportional voting system, and reflect on New York City's experience with RCV since its adoption. The conversation also touches on the competitive nature of the upcoming mayoral election in NYC and the technology used in RCV elections, such as RCTAB. The episode concludes with a look ahead at future RCV elections across various jurisdictions.

RCVRC's Senior Director of Programming & Outreach Tiffany Montemayor and RCTab Program Director Mat Ruberg joined the podcast this month to debrief Redondo Beach's first-ever RCV elections last month! Mat and Tiffany walk us through the whole experience, from getting RCTab certified in California through Redondo Beach's post-election manual tally of their RCV results.