Podcasts about final five voting

An election system called ‘Final Five Voting' and why some advocate for it. A Milwaukee muralist speaks about public art. Live at Lake Effect featuring classical guitarist René Izquierdo.

In 2024, Nevada voters will see a ballot Question 3 strikingly similar to the question on Final Five voting that passed by 6 points back in 2022. That's because a constitutional amendment must be passed by voters twice in succession, according to Nevada law.  And should voters approve Question 3 again this year, Nevada will become the second state (after Alaska) to implement this ambitious electoral voting reform system including a unified open primary and ranked choice general election.   “After we won,” recalls Cesar Marquez of Nevada's first passage of Final Five Voting in 2022, “Sondra, Doug, and I and so many others, we felt, okay, we now have two years to talk about ranked choice voting.” A former Tesla Engineer, Marquez is referring to his colleagues Doug Goodman of Nevadans for Election Reform and Dr. Sondra Cosgrove of Vote Nevada.  In this episode We learn how Goodman, a retired military veteran, began working on election reform in the Silver State a decade ago.  Initially, Goodman lobbied extensively for legislative action before pivoting to the ballot initiative process. He recalls:  “One of the questions I was posing to business leaders at the time was, if you had a more open electoral system, could that be a tiebreaker if a company was considering moving to Nevada?”  Sonda Cosgrove,  a history professor at Southern Nevada College, soon joined Goodman in that effort. She had noticed an alarming and counterintuitive trend in her efforts at Vote Nevada. Yes, more voters were registering to vote. But they were not voting in larger numbers.  “And so we started realizing that they were being turned off right at the get-go in the primary,” says Cosgrove.” That's when.. .they were just kind of opting out.” Marquez joined forces with Goodman and Cosgrove to place Final Five Voting on that 2022 ballot. But he came at political reform from a very different direction.  “The first thing I'll say is that I never liked politics, I still don't like politics,” admits Marquez. “ My background is in engineering, and I've worked in manufacturing for my whole career.” What do a military veteran, academic historian and engineer turned reformer have in common?  Is ranked choice voting best demonstrated by a “rank the drink” event in English or “rank the taco” evening in Spanish? The Purple Principles discusses these and other election reform questions in this latest episode of our season-long state election reform series. We began in Idaho then traveled to Washington DC, Alaska, South Dakota and Arizona, before landing here in Nevada.    The Purple Principle is a Fluent Knowledge production. Original music by Ryan Adair Rooney.

“Everybody likes to think about these reforms as being revolutionary,” says Paul Johnson, former Mayor of Phoenix, now Co-Chair of Make Elections Fair AZ, on the record number of state level election reforms in play this year. “They're not. City governments have been doing these reforms for about 50 to 60 years.” Johnson, a former Democrat turned Independent, is leading a third attempt at opening primary elections in Arizona to independent and unaffiliated voters through a 2024 citizen ballot initiative that also amends the state constitution to allow ranked choice general elections. He's joined in this effort by GOP strategist Chuck Coughlin, a veteran of hundreds of candidate and issue campaigns in the Grand Canyon state and now treasurer at Make Elections Fair AZ. “The very basis of our thinking is that if you're going to use taxpayer money to run an election,” says Coughlin, “you have to treat every voter the same. You have to treat every candidate the same. I mean, that is a principle part of our American jurisprudence and the way we govern ourselves.” A Measured Approach In this episode, we learn how Johnson and Coughlin initially hoped to pursue the Alaska election Final Five Voting model of a unified open primary plus ranked choice general election. Ultimately, they decided on a measured approach with higher probability of success. “We did five statewide surveys trying to see if we could get that done, which would be a Final Five open primary, " says Coughlin. “I concluded in June of last year that that was not possible.... Paul and his colleagues came back and said, ‘Hey, we just want to do an open primary.'” Listen to the episode as Chuck and Paul share the data behind their incremental approach to election reform. Past Rivals Work Together We also hear how two political rivals (Paul & Chuck) joined forces in advocating for more sensible elections and pragmatic representation in the highly polarized state of Arizona. “I always liked to tease Chuck that the only job that he had in the governor's office was to destroy my career,” says Paul Johnson of two Gubernatorial campaign losses to candidates supported by Coughlin. “And he likes to tease me back, he did a pretty good job.” Is this the year Arizona voters embrace the principle of treating all voters and candidates the same in their elections? In fact, this Arizona amendment could precede further general election reform via the legislature or citizen ballot process. Opening party-run primaries could even happen in the near term. Looking Ahead This episode is part of our season-long non partisan election reform series. Previous episodes have visited Washington DC, Idaho and South Dakota. Upcoming episodes travel to Nevada, Colorado and Alaska.  The Purple Principle is a Fluent Knowledge production. Original music by Ryan Adair Rooney.

In this bonus episode we revisit the vast nation-sized state of Alaska, model for election reform in numerous states around the country even as that voting system of an open, unified primary plus instant runoff general election faces a potential 2024 recall ballot measure back in the frontier state.  The Purple Principle has made three previous audio visits to Alaska, arguably our least partisan, most indy-minded state with 60% of voters choosing not to register with either major party. We first revisit our initial Alaska episode from the fall of 2020 to learn how campaign manager, Shea Siegert, was persuaded to take on that challenge by his own family's enthusiasm for non-partisan voting reform. “I was having a conversation with my mother who lives in Boise, Idaho the other day,” Siegert confides. “And she said, every time I look at the news, I think about your ballot measure. And it just makes more and more sense.” Next we hear from independent Alaska House Member Calvin Schrage in the fall of 2022 as the Alaska voting model is put to the test for the first time. That election produced a pragmatic split ticket outcome with reelection of conservative governor Mike DunLeavey, moderate indy-minded US Senator Lisa Murkowski, and the pragmatic centrist House Democrat, Mary Peltola.  Our recent season four discussion with Native Alaskan Mary Peltola completes our trek across three episodes, highlighted by the advice she received some years before upon election to the Alaska state legislature.  “So when I was first elected, I was in my mid-twenties and I imagined, like most people do, that I was going to Juneau to fight, to fight against our enemies and fight for my district,” Peltola tells us. “And when I got there, one of my colleagues told me you have to have 59 best friends if you want to accomplish anything.” Tune in to find out how Rep. Peltola broke bread across the political aisles in this bonus episode with Alaska-related insights from Katherine Gehl, architect of Final Five Voting, Eric Bronner of Veterans for All Voters, as well as Doug Goodman of Nevadans for Better Elections and Lisa Rice of Make All Votes Count DC, both of whom have looked to Alaska as a model for their own reform efforts.  The Purple Principle is a Fluent Knowledge production; original music by Ryan Adair Rooney.

American voters have never been more dissatisfied. Unlike in business, where more competition promotes accountability and innovation, our political system only allows for two competitors. For most voters, America's two-party system makes elections more about defeating the other side than solving problems and delivering. Katherine Gehl proposes Final-Five Voting, where five candidates advance from a nonpartisan primary and then are ranked, to promote competition and ensure representatives are accountable to a majority of voters. Katherine Gehl is a leader in the national nonpartisan movement for political innovation and the founder of The Institute for Political Innovation. A philanthropist and former CEO, she examines America's political system through an industry-competition lens to better understand its biggest problems and to identify achievable solutions. Her book, The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy (2020), cowritten with Michael E. Porter, has changed the national reform community's approach to modern political change. https://political-innovation.org/ https://store.hbr.org/product/the-politics-industry-how-political-innovation-can-break-partisan-gridlock-and-save-our-democracy/10367

Katherine Gehl, co-author of The Politics Industry and Founder of The Institute for Political Innovation, has always asked herself what she needed “to do in order to change the political situation.” “So at first I needed to sell my business,” Katherine tells us. “Then I needed to make the intellectual  case.. And then I needed to try to sell this reform to people. It just went like that.” Today, in 2024, after many years of effort and adaptation, Katherine Gehl's Final Four or Final Five voting initiatives are now poised to be on the ballot in another four states (Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Colorado) having passed in Alaska back in 2020, which then held the first such election in 2022.   Katherine recounts that in the time she's been working on these reforms, “going all the way back to 2013, but really trying to raise money actively since 2015, the reception has changed dramatically.” In this episode, which launches our extended series on 2024 election reform initiatives, we'll learn how non-partisan, competition-based election reform has gained traction among donors, reformers and voters alike. We'll also get a better understanding of how her institute and action fund “catalyze” grassroots leaders in reform-minded states, such the former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones and Reclam Idaho founder Luke Mayhew.  “The combination of someone like Luke with Jim Jones is a bit of a dream that you could put that together,” Katherine recounts, while also detailing emerging efforts in Colorado and Montana and the second ballot initiative in Nevada this cycle as required by the state constitution.  Will this be the year Final Five Voting moves onto the national stage and transforms the incentives of elected officials in these pathbreaking states?  Tune in to learn more from Katherine Gehl, co-author of The Politics Industry (with Harvard Business School Professor, Michael Porter) and a central catalyst in the nation's growing non-partisan election reform movement.  The Purple Principle is a Fluent Knowledge production. Original music by Ryan Adair Rooney.   SHOW NOTES Our Guest: Katherine Gehl, Reform Strategist & Founder, The Institute for Political Innovation (IPI) Join Us for Premium Content: Apple: https://link.chtbl.com/PurpleApple Patreon: patreon.com/purpleprinciplepodcast Find us online! Twitter: @purpleprincipl Facebook: @thepurpleprinciplepodcast Youtube: @thepurpleprinciple  Our website: https://bit.ly/2ZCpFaQ Sign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2UfFSja  Resources:  Institute for Political Innovation  https://hbr.org/2020/07/fixing-u-s-politics https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_election_results,_2022 https://www.uniteamericainstitute.org/research/alaskas-election-model-how-the-top-four-nonpartisan-primary-system-improves-participation-competition-and-representation https://store.hbr.org/product/the-politics-industry-how-political-innovation-can-break-partisan-gridlock-and-save-our-democracy/10367 https://www.veteransforallvoters.org/ https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada_Question_3,_Top-Five_Ranked-Choice_Voting_Initiative_(2022) https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/after-restructuring-is-nevada-ranked-choice-ballot-measure-ready-for-election https://vote.nyc/page/ranked-choice-voting https://www.rcvmontana.org/petition https://rcvforcolorado.org/ https://idahocapitalsun.com/author/jim-jones/ https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/05/01/having-exceeded-goal-idaho-open-primary-supporters-submit-final-signatures-for-verification/ https://www.reclaimidaho.org/ https://www.reclaimidaho.org/medicaid https://kentthiry.com/about/ https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/rankedchoicefaq.html https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/03/11/proposed-constitutional-amendment-to-block-ranked-choice-voting-fails-in-idaho-house/ https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/01/wisconsin-republican-voting-senate-assembly-legislation-bill-watch/

Jim talks with Katherine Gehl about her and Michael Porter's book, The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy. They discuss Jim's past familiarity with Michael Porter's work, Porter's five forces, the "what the hell is water" phenomenon, the Schoolhouse Rock problem, political industry theory, political payback for unhelpful activities, why political competitors are doing better as "customers" become more dissatisfied, the current American party system as a protected duopoly, nonprofit investments in things that have no chance, non-constitutional problems, the reversible accident of plurality voting, whether more parties are essential, how Ross Perot's 1992 election pressured the two parties to balance the budget, reforming the primary system, final-five voting, Alaska's experiment in final-four voting, instant runoffs, freeing players to make good strategic choices, lowering the barrier to entry for new thinking, and much more. Episode Transcript The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy, by Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, by Michael Porter Katherine Gehl is the originator of Final Five Voting (FFV)—a new election system designed to positively transform the incentives driving our dysfunctional politics. In 2020, Gehl published The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy (with co-author Michael Porter of Harvard Business School). Her work applied a competition lens and classic tools of industry analysis to politics for the first time. Today, Gehl leads the national Campaign for Final Five Voting which she co-founded with leaders across the political spectrum.

In this week's Capitol Chats episode, Democracy Found Executive Director Sara Eskrich says ranked choice voting has proven successful in other states such as Alaska. Final five, a subset of ranked choice voting, would also decrease the odds candidates who mostly appeal to their party's extremes end up on the general election ballot, she added.

In this week's Capitol Chats episode, Democracy Found Executive Director Sara Eskrich says ranked choice voting has proven successful in other states such as Alaska. Final five, a subset of ranked choice voting, would also decrease the odds candidates who mostly appeal to their party's extremes end up on the general election ballot, she added.

In 2013, Katherine Gehl was a young CEO when she crossed paths with Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, who revolutionized corporate strategy with his famed “Five Forces” analysis. Through working with Porter on efforts to revive U.S. economic competitiveness, Gehl — who describes herself as “politically homeless” — realized that the same Five Forces analysis could be applied to the business of politics. Looking at politics through this lens helped explain why the current political primary system produces polarization and paralyzed government. In particular, she was struck by how the Republican and Democratic parties, for all their differences, act as a duopoly in preventing new entrants into the field.  The result was Gehl and Porter's 2020 book The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy. Based on her research, Gehl realized that the most powerful and achievable reform to change our broken political paradigm was Final Five Voting. In this system, closed partisan primaries are replaced with nonpartisan open primaries that send the top five finishers to the general election, in which a single candidate is elected through ranked choice voting. In this podcast discussion, Gehl describes how she went through what she calls “the five stages of political grief” to arrive at her conviction that Final Five Voting was the reform American politics needed most. She describes how such a system was enacted in Alaska, how it works in practice, and how it shifts the selection power in our democracy from primary voters to general-election voters. As a result, this reform made Alaskan politicians more responsive to the electorate as a whole (instead of a small group of highly partisan primary voters) and more willing to strike deals with political opponents to solve public problems. Gehl discusses other states that are considering Final Five Voting, the opposition that reformers face from both parties and how Final Five Voting can lead to better candidates and governing outcomes.

Katherine Gehl is the founder of The Institute for Political Innovation and co-author of “The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy,” with Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. She is the architect and evangelist of a new approach to elections called "Final Five Voting" that she says it will help solve many of the problems in Washington by changing the incentives that guide our elected officials. On today's RCP Takeaway podcast, Gehl joins RealClearPolitics bureau chief Carl Cannon and moderator Andrew Walworth to discuss how our electoral system affects decision-making by public officials and whether Final Five Voting can change American politics for the better.

To no one's surprise, yesterday's special session led no where and we are no closer to solutions for child care, paid family leave, workforce development and the labor shortage. We discuss what we think could actually move the needle. Then we talk about the reintroduction of the bi-partisan bill over Final Five Voting, and Kristin explains how it works using Wisconsin's favorite foods. Don't listen while hungry.

In this episode of The Optimistic American, Paul Johnson is joined by Eric Bronner and Chris Sylvester from Veterans for Political Innovation. The three talk about the issues with the American political system, why political reform matters to veterans, the issues with the bi-partisan political scene, and what a real patriot is actually all about. Eric kicks off the conversation by sharing what Veterans for Political Innovation is all about. The initiative was launched about two years ago with the goal of mobilizing America's most trusted messengers to help repair some of the least trusted institutions – our partisan political system, through state-based campaigns for better elections, better politics, and more choices. Chris and Eric open up about their service for the country and the role they played in the United States military. According to Eric, political reform matters to veterans for the fact that independents are tired of the two-party doom loop the U.S. are stuck in. Reformers like Eric and Chris believe that reforms are the best path to changing the system itself, and to making American politics – and the country – better. Eric and Chris believe the existing partisan system is a threat to American national security. Chris talks about his run into politics as a Republican and the lesson he learned about trying to unseat an incumbent of the same party. Eric touches upon what he considers two key aspects that could improve the political system: a fully-open unified primary where every voter could vote for any candidate, and real competition for November's elections. Chris believes that the political system is riddled with apathy and ignorance. For Eric, if someone is more loyal to a political party or a political leader than to the Constitution, they are not a patriot. Eric brings the concept of Final Five Voting into the conversation. Chris and Eric go through their definitions of leadership. One of the major challenges for existing politicians is that out of 500,000 elected officials, 70% are determined in the primary and never face opposition in the general election. This gives an inordinate amount of leverage to the 10% of special interests who actually show up in the primary. Both learned in the Military the importance of putting Country before Party. They swore their oath to the Constitution. Today's politicians because of the broken partisan system put their party above their oath to the Constitution.     Mentioned in This Episode: optamerican.com Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You by Dr Emily Bashah and Hon Paul Johnson The Optimistic American on YouTube - @optamerican Become a premium supporter of the show: OptAmerican.com/premium Veterans for Political Innovation Michael Porter  Harvard Business School George Washington Martin Luther Jean-Jacques Rosseau Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't by Jim Collins SaveDemocracyAZ.com

We welcome Richard and Lena Eng, founders of the organization Voters First Wisconsin, for a conversation about Final Five Voting and other key initiatives that could save our broken political system. Then we complete our first 2024 candidate interview with 3rd Congressional Democratic Candidate, Rebecca Cooke. Guests: Rebecca Cooke, Richard Eng, Lena Eng

The American political system today thrives on division and demonization, forcing politicians to prioritize winning electoral votes over and above solving complex issues through cooperation. In the context of such entrenched dysfunction, is it possible to reshape the incentives? Katherine Gehl is an entrepreneur with a big idea: Final Five Voting. This innovative approach employs an instant runoff system and ranked ballots, promoting healthy competition and transforming bipartisan cooperation into an asset rather than a threat.

Katherine Gehl, the founder of The Institute for Political Innovation and co-author of “The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy,” joins Scott to discuss why it's time to disrupt the politics industry with Final Five Voting.  Scott opens with his thoughts on why Twitter's subscription model is all wrong.  Algebra of Happiness: Get memories out of your parents while you can.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Cantwell is a United States Naval Academy graduate. After serving in the Navy, he has continued his career of service as a federal government employee at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. It was the presidential elections of 2016 that led Mike to dive into politics and ultimately begin his journey as a political reformist. He knows that our political system is broken and the way to fix it is at the state level. Two key components he feels are vital; Rank Choice Voting and Final Five Voting. These issues are multi-partisan and can help create better elections across the whole system. Mike has been involved with Fair Vote Virginia and also Veterans for Political Innovation. Both these organizations have a passion for political reform at the grassroots level. Fair Vote Virginia "We're a single issue, local chapter of the national FairVote movement, a non-partisan, non-profit champion of ranked choice voting. Our members cover the entire political spectrum and come together from across the Commonwealth, united by a shared mission to revive real, representative democracy." Veterans for Political Innovation Their mission is to “make our political system less toxic and more competitive by mobilizing military veterans to fight to preserve democracy through election innovations. Learn More LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-cantwell-9bb5282/ Fair Vote Virginia:  www.fairvoitvirginia.org Veterans for Political Innovation:  www.veteransforpoliticalinnovation.org VeteranCrowd Network Our "forever promise" is to build the veteran and military spouse community a place to connect and engage. VeteranCrowd is simply a national network of veterans, veteran led businesses and the resources they need to prosper. Subscribe to stay in touch. About Your Host Bob Louthan is a VMI Graduate, Army veteran, and executive with over 25 years of experience in mergers, acquisitions and private capital formation. He founded the VeteranCrowd Network to bring veterans and veteran-led businesses together with each other and the resources they need to prosper.

  Eric graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1997. He served eight years as a Naval Flight Officer. After service he practiced law and had a successful real estate business. In early 2019 Eric served as board president for “Show Me Integrity”, a political reform organization. It was this experience and his own desire to get involved in politics as an independent that led his desire to find a platform for nonpartisan reform. He founded the nonprofit, Veterans for Political Innovation in 2021 to start this work. Veterans for Political Innovation Their mission is to “make our political system less toxic and more competitive by mobilizing military veterans to fight to preserve democracy through election innovations.” To accomplish this, VPI is focused on supporting the following nonpartisan innovations: Top Five Open Primaries, Ranked Choice Voting, and Final Five Voting. “Veterans for Political Innovation will mobilize one of America's most trusted institutions, veterans, to help restore one of our least-trusted institutions, the politics industry." Learn More Website: https://www.v-pi.org Upcoming Events: Wisconsin Veterans Business Conference VeteranCrowd Network Our "forever promise" is to build the veteran and military spouse community a place to connect and engage. VeteranCrowd is simply a national network of veterans, veteran led businesses and the resources they need to prosper. Subscribe to stay in touch. About Your Host Bob Louthan is a VMI Graduate, Army veteran, and executive with over 25 years of experience in mergers, acquisitions and private capital formation. He founded the VeteranCrowd Network to bring veterans and veteran-led businesses together with each other and the resources they need to prosper.

What is Final Five Voting? The declining number of Wisconsin police officers, mental health resources for Wisconsin farmers, the Milwaukee Diaper Mission, and Twitter finally gets an edit button.

My guest today is Ms. Katherine Gehl, business leader, author, speaker, and political innovator who has taken on the ambitious undertaking of trying to reform how American politics works.In 2020, with Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, Gehl published her book, The Politics Industry, How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save our Democracy. Heady stuff indeed. The overarching theme is a system called Final Five Voting, where candidates enter a primary regardless of party – a new way of voting that forces candidates to earn a spot in the general election versus a system, which, currently, is not competitive.Alaska approved this system in a 2020 ballot measure. And Gehl noted that for the 2024 elections, there are also signature drives taking place in Missouri and Nevada. Gehl added that California and Washington adopted the top two primaries in which the top two finishers advance to the general election, again, regardless of party affiliation.After spending time with Katherine, I was truly encouraged about our elections for the first time in many years. As someone who has grown less than optimistic about our democracy of late, Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter have crafted a plan that might just work after all.I hope you learn as much as I did from Katherine. She is really on to something here!Watch Episode: Get full access to True Thirty at truethirty.substack.com/subscribe

[1:04] The party primary as the root problem in US Politics[9:56] Final Five Voting[20:42] Alaska's primary - a live version of Final Four Voting[33:48] No longer “wasting votes” on third-party candidates[40:47] Minority representation in Final Five Voting[47:09] Getting involved in Final Five Voting efforts

Mike Cantwell is a United States Naval Academy graduate. After serving in the Navy, he has continued his career of service as a federal government employee at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. It was the presidential elections of 2016 that led Mike to dive into politics and ultimately begin his journey as a political reformist. He has even thrown his hat in the ring of candidates and ran for the Arlington County Board.   He knows that our political system is broken and the way to fix it is at the state level. Two key components he feels are vital; Rank Choice Voting and Final Five Voting. These issues are multi-partisan and can help create better elections across the whole system. Mike has been involved with Fair Vote Virginia and also Veterans for Political Innovation. Both these organizations have a passion for political reform at the grassroots level. Fair Vote Virginia "We're a single issue, local chapter of the national FairVote movement, a non-partisan, non-profit champion of ranked choice voting. Our members cover the entire political spectrum and come together from across the Commonwealth, united by a shared mission to revive real, representative democracy." Veterans for Political Innovation Their mission is to “make our political system less toxic and more competitive by mobilizing military veterans to fight to preserve democracy through election innovations.”  Learn More LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-cantwell-9bb5282/ Campaign Website:  www.cantwell4countyboard.com Fair Vote Virginia:  www.fairvoitvirginia.org Veterans for Political Innovation:  www.veteransforpoliticalinnovation.org VeteranCrowd Network Our "forever promise" is to build the veteran and military spouse community a place to connect and engage. VeteranCrowd is simply a national network of veterans, veteran led businesses and the resources they need to prosper. Subscribe to stay in touch, or consider if Individual or Corporate Membership in the Network is a fit for you. About Your Host Bob Louthan is a VMI Graduate, Army veteran, and executive with over 25 years of experience in mergers, acquisitions and private capital formation. He founded the VeteranCrowd Network to bring veterans and veteran-led businesses together with each other and the resources they need to prosper.  

Eric graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1997. He served eight years as a Naval Flight Officer. After service he built a successful real estate business. But, in early 2019 Eric served as board president for “Show Me Integrity”, a political reform organization. This became the springboard to combine his interest in politics and military service to found the nonprofit, Veterans for Political Innovation in 2021. Veterans for Political Innovation Their mission is to “make our political system less toxic and more competitive by mobilizing military veterans to fight to preserve democracy through election innovations.” To accomplish this, VPI is focused on supporting the following nonpartisan innovations: Top Five Open Primaries, Ranked Choice Voting, and Final Five Voting. “Veterans for Political Innovation will mobilize one of America's most trusted institutions, veterans, to help restore one of our least-trusted institutions, the politics industry." Learn More Website: https://www.veteransforpoliticalinnovation.org Upcoming Events:  March 16th; Nevada Launch March 30th; Cape Girardeau Roundtable and Happy Hour VeteranCrowd Network Our "forever promise" is to build the veteran and military spouse community a place to connect and engage. VeteranCrowd is simply a national network of veterans, veteran led businesses and the resources they need to prosper. Subscribe to stay in touch, or consider if Individual or Corporate Membership in the Network is a fit for you. About Your Host Bob Louthan is a VMI Graduate, Army veteran, and executive with over 25 years of experience in mergers, acquisitions and private capital formation. He founded the VeteranCrowd Network to bring veterans and veteran-led businesses together with each other and the resources they need to prosper.

On February 14, 2022, Newsmakers Host Lisa Pugh sat down with two Wisconsin State Senators, Democrat Jeff Smith and Republican Dale Kooyenga, to discuss final five voting. On the eve of Wisconsin's February Primary election we highlight an effort to change the way Wisconsin selects U.S. Senate and Congressional candidates. Final Five Voting would ensure that the top five vote getters in a primary advance to the general election where they would then be ranked by voters. It's an effort that's gaining traction across the country. Many are hopeful the change would lead to politicians who legislate in a manner that reflects the interests of a larger share of the electorate and increase bi-partisanship.

In today's episode, Rick and Sam are joined by Sara Eskrich, Executive Director of Democracy Found, to discuss final-five voting and the cross-partisan movement to shift our elections to using final-five voting. Sara explains what final-five voting is, how it is different from the current elections process, and how states like Alaska and Maine are already using it. Then Sara, Sam, and Rick consider how final-five voting changes and challenges the current election process, creates accountability and incentives for elected officials, and has support across party lines. The conversation closes with a look at challenges to final-five voting and what comes next for the movement. More information on final-five voting and Democracy Found visit: https://democracyfound.org/ Sara Eskrich is the Executive Director of Democracy Found, a Wisconsin-based nonpartisan initiative committed to revitalizing democracy. By implementing a system of Final-Five Voting, a system wherein the top five candidates are selected from the primary ballot and instant runoff voting is used in the general election, we will ensure politicians are held accountable for delivering results. Sara previously served on the Madison Common Council and currently serves as a Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District Commissioner. She is a member of the Madison Downtown Rotary and the Hoan Group. Her career includes roles in the public and private sectors, including at Deloitte Consulting, the UW Population Health Institute, Kids Forward, the Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health, and City Council President Michael P. Ross' Campaign and Office at the City of Boston. Sara is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison and holds a Masters of Public Affairs from the Robert M. La Follette School and Masters of Public Health from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Sam Scinta is President and Founder of IM Education, a non-profit, and Lecturer in Political Science at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Viterbo University. Rick Kyte is Endowed Professor and Director of the DB Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University. Music compliments of Bobby Bridger- “Rendezvous” from "A Ballad of the West"

(00:00) Local News Chat: Historic School & EV Charging (17:00) Your Take on Gableman's Election Investigation (37:00) Sara Eskrich & Rep Ron Tusler on Final Five Voting (54:00) Tom Kamenick, WI Transparency Project (86:00) The Takeaway: Polluting The Public Infosphere

In this week's episode of Politics In Question, Katherine Gehl joins Julia, Lee, and James to take a fresh look at how Americans conduct their elections and to discuss the prospects for reform. Gehl is the founder of the Institute for Political Innovation, a non-profit, cross-partisan public policy organization that aims to reform American politics by using private-sector insights to improve congressional elections and - by extension - fix Congress. She is the author of The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy and the leading proponent of Politics Industry Theory.How do members of Congress get (and keep) their jobs? Does it help (or hurt) Congress's ability to do its job? Is there a better way to elect lawmakers? What is Final Five Voting? Can it change how the House and Senate operate? And what is Politics Industry Theory? These are some of the questions that Katherine, Julia, Lee, and James discuss in this week's episode.

On this episode of Toppling The Duopoly, host Shawn Griffiths is joined by Cathy Stewart and Amikka Smith, who are co-hosting IndependentVoting.org's 20th Annual Anti-Corruption Awards on Monday, October 25 at 6 PM EDT. This year, Independent Voting is taking the event national by hosting a virtual event available to anyone who wants to register to attend. The awards honor individuals that span the political spectrum who are working to advance the independent voter movement. This year, the honorees include former Gehl Foods CEO Katherine Gehl, founder of the Institute for Political Innovation and leading advocate for Final Five Voting, which would implement a nonpartisan top-5 primary with ranked choice voting in the general election. The event will also honor Farhad Mohit, founder of Flipagran (which was acquired by the company behind TikTok), who started an open source platform to help independent candidates be more competitive called the Good Party, and Gaby Cardenas, Principal and CEO of the multicultural marketing firm The Colibri Collective, for the strides she has made in connecting independent voters. Cathy and Amikka promise attendees will have a good time as they learn more about the honorees and the growing independent voter movement. You can register for the event here. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/toppling-the-duopoly/support

In this interview with business leader, author, political theorist, and speaker of a popular TED talk Katherine Gehl, we talk about why our political system is "fixed" and incentivizing the wrong behavior from elected leaders. Gehl is a fascinating figure. She's a successful businesswoman who sold her high-tech food company for $250 million so she could focus full-time on her organization, the Institute For Political Innovation (IPI), and bringing  Final Five voting to states across the country.   Final-Five Voting is the combination of (1) a single open primary election with the top 5 candidates advancing to the general election and (2) ranked-choice voting in the general election. A similar proposal passed in Alaska in 2020. This kind of proposal could be coming to Oregon in 2024 via ballot measure, and it could fundamentally change Oregon's electoral system. In this episode, we explore Gehl's diagnosis of the problem (the "political industrial complex"), her solutions, and we talk through some potential critiques from Alex and Ben. 

In this episode, Chris chats with A.B. Stoddard about her recent RCP piece that takes a deep dive on Katherine Gehl's concept of Final Five Voting. A.B. digs into how it works and where it is working (currently in Alaska, in consideration in the legislature in Wisconsin).Chris and A.B. then break down potential pitfalls and if, how and where this could be implemented. Can this scratch our collective itch for better representation that more closely reflects our ideals, be it GOP, Dem or somewhere in between?

Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday on all three charges in the killing of George Floyd. Vice President Harris and President Biden applauded the verdict, and in their remarks, both decried what they called “systemic racism” in America’s police forces and other institutions. It’s a phrase associated with what’s called "Critical Race Theory" –an approach to the study of politics and history that is moving from the academy to politics, business and popular culture. And while Washington is focused on reforming voting laws at the national level, we look at a proposal for a different approach to elections called “Final Five Voting.” Carl Cannon, Phil Wegmann, and A.B. Stoddard join moderator Andrew Walworth on today's RealClearPolitics Takeaway podcast.

(00:00) FriYAY News Chat: Brewers Win & Tip Big (18:00) Your Take on Plans for a Sunny Saturday (37:30) Cynthia Thompson, Family Caregivers Rock (55:00) Final Five Voting Introduced in Wisconsin (66:30) What's Goin' On? Maddie Uhlenbrauck, CVB (73:00) Sound Off on Elections, Sturgeon & Maps (84:00) The Takeaway: Planning For What's To Come

Today's episode is all about solutions. We talk with Executive Director of the Institute of Political Innovation (IPI), Solomon Lieberman, about what cross-partisan “politics industry theory” reform is, and how it can help us move into a better era of American politics.“Politics industry theory” was first formulated by Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter as they attempted to pinpoint objective, unbiased reasons why American government was failing. What they found was that our political duopoly (both the Republicans and Democrats together) has slowly removed legitimate competition from its industry.The Institute for Political Innovation was then formed in order to help organize and empower reformers from both sides of the political aisle to return competency, and accountability, to government through true competition.Some of the “powerful and achievable” ideas discussed in this episode that IPI is fighting for are implementing Final Five Voting and Ranked Choice Voting. Solomon and Jim also talk about things like the problems of politicians being primaried, plurality voting, polarization and party-line voting in Congress, the Hastert Rule, lesser-of-two-evils elections, and the dual currency of politics, votes vs. money.Listen in to change your perspective on politics, and find positive ways to get involved.(Relevant Links)IPI's main website www.political-innovation.orgKatherine Gehl's TedX talk on “Powerful, non-partisan solution to fix politics” www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixk8d3GQJnQLink to original 2017 “Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America” study https://www.hbs.edu/competitiveness/Documents/why-competition-in-the-politics-industry-is-failing-america.pdfKatherine Gehl and Michael Porter's new book, “The Politics Industry” can be found on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1633699234(Support Independent-Thinking and Objective Analysis)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/independme)If you want to give us a few dollars as a tip, in only a couple clicks on buymeacoffee.com you can help keep independent thought alive. No sign up, or subscription, required.If you want to become a monthly subscriber to the Independent Riot podcast to receive bonus content from this week's episode, a free t-shirt, and a free copy of Jim's book, please sign up on patreon.Show store for independent-minded t-shirts, coffee mugs, and stickers.And please subscribe to the Independent Riot Youtube Channel for additional content not contain in the audio podcast.Jim Duncan's non-fiction book "Independent's Guide to Overthrowing the Two-Party System"Jim Duncan's political fiction "Blood Republic"And you can read Jim's articles on MediumSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/independme)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/independme)