We just mailed letters to more than 800 current donors asking for their continued commitment to support our work for real electoral reform.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. For the fourth time in a row, Minnesotans may be on the verge of electing a governor who lacks the support of most voters -- a governor most voters voted against. Under our winner-takes-all voting system, the candidate with the most votes wins even if this candidate is unpopular with the majority of voters. In a contested election with three or more candidates – like the gubernatorial race this year -- a candidate can win with a small fraction of the vote.

Ranked Choice Voting ensures that the majority is represented and allows voters to cast an enthusiastic, affirming vote for their candidate without fear of “wasting” their vote or worse, helping elect their least favorite candidate. It promotes issue-oriented campaigning and allows new candidates and new ideas to truly be a part of our democratic electoral process.

If making our elections more democratic and more representative matters to you, please contribute now. While we can’t use RCV this year, to make it a statewide reality in future elections we must use this election to educate Minnesota voters about the problems with our winner-takes-all elections and the opportunity for real reform. Your support today is essential to making that happen.

If you are a current donor, thank you for all of your past support! We need your continued commitment more than ever to ensure successful RCV elections in Minneapolis and St. Paul -- and to advance RCV statewide, where reform is so urgently needed.

If you aren’t a current donor, please consider a contribution today!

Our goal is to raise $75,000 by Sept. 1 to conduct a targeted voter education campaign prior to the November election and to lay the groundwork for a smooth RCV rollout in St. Paul next year.

• A gift of just $50 will help us add 100 new online supporters, who can in turn help spread the word about the need for electoral reform! 
• A gift of $100 will sponsor an information booth at a county fair or a day at the state fair!
• A gift of $200 will help us educate 100 new legislators about the need for electoral reform and potentially gain their support for Ranked Choice Voting!
• A gift of $300 will help us place op-eds by leading community voices in three outstate newspapers, or secure radio interviews in five local and statewide stations!
• A gift of $500 will sponsor a presentation to a civic, community or  governmental affairs group!
  
• A gift of $750 will help us write two grant proposals for voter education in St. Paul next year!
  
• A gift of $1,000 will sponsor a ranked poll that would reveal where the broad majority of voter support really is!
• A gift of $2000 will help us produce an online video to share the story of the successful 2009 Minneapolis RCV election!
  

Thanks again for helping to make contentious elections with plurality outcomes a thing of the past in Minnesota!  Contribute now!