Juneteenth and how to increase diversity with more democracy
I look forward to advocating for my Democracy Platform and Instant Runoff Voting as the Democratic Party can be a great laboratory to show how we can improve our democracy.
Happy Juneteenth, Virginia Democratic Convention Delegates!
First off, congrats to our congressional primary winners:
Leslie Mehta (VA-1)
Missy Cotter Smasal (VA-2)
Gloria Witt (VA-5)
Eugene Vindman (VA-7)
Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10)
Congressman Gerry Connolly (VA-11)
Now we need to go beyond the primary electorate and reach folks who aren’t members of the democratic party and might need education on the history of Juneteenth as the official end of slavery in America or what Democrats have done to advance equality to the current day.
We also need to make sure our values are being reflected within our community as well. Former DNC Chair Donna Brazile has warned of a lack of diversity at the DNC Convention and I am committed to improving our outreach to make sure all communities are represented.
This requires long-term planning and is why Obama For America transitioned into “Organizing For America” to encourage year-round political and civic participation including healthcare advocacy and voter registration.
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison has followed this legacy by instituting programs like Democrats Care and local committees have a long history of hosting Day of Service events like on MLK Day to encourage actions that show we care about the communities they live in.
Congresswoman McClellan, a former President of the Virginia Young Democrats and Virginia’s first African-American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, has often discussed the importance of year-round organizing to reach more voters.
If Democrats want to attract a more diverse electorate we need to modernize our organizations to include more diverse voices who can lead us in that direction.
MY DEMOCRACY PLATFORM
That’s why after a proposal to change the process I applaud the DPVA Central Committee for continuing to empower Convention Delegates to elect DNC Members.
Here are some other actions I would recommend to increase party participation:
More communication in plain language on how party elections work.
More inclusive party election rules that allow you to run on what you know not who you know by eliminating formal slates on the convention ballot.
More resources on how to run for party positions as well as public office.
More resources on how to engage elected officials as constituents to show support for their policies or educate them on other issues they care about.
More accessibility for party elections to accommodate people with disabilities as one of my biggest supporters can’t attend the convention because of mobility issues.
More accessibility to party events for people who donate their time or are low-income. For example, with the DNC’s Gen 44 program I was able to attend events for free because i recruited a certain level of attendees and stipends for travel expenses to important events.
More pay and benefits for party and campaign workers.
More training and protocols on HR issues that affect party participation.
As someone who drafted a resolution in 2018 that commended the DNC for paying its interns and has advocated for increasing compensation of our democratic professionals and increasing the amount of hospitality for our campaign field army I look forward to working with party members to increase diversity through more inclusion initiatives.
INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING
Another way to increase diversity in the Democratic Party is through “Instant Runoff Voting.”
As we witnessed in yesterday’s democratic primaries, deciding party elections by a plurality not a Majority is not always in the best interest of our party.
In one case, we had 12 candidates running in one election where the winner was elected with a fraction of the vote. And there were accusations about the character of another candidate which could have led to a very controversial outcome decided by a minority of primary voters.
And in other cases the demographics of the primary field, not the will of the voters, have helped determine the winner. For example, when multiple women run against one man.
My view is regardless of who my favorite candidate is the person with the most popularity should win and not be penalized for appealing to a similar coalition as one of their competitors. Otherwise, we get into ugly debates about who should drop out that do not represent our values.
Democrats can conduct more inclusive elections via “Instant Runoff Voting” which is also known as “Ranked Choice Voting” because it allows election officials and party leaders to conduct a runoff instantly by allowing voters to rank their candidates.
Instant Runoff Voting was used successfully in Tuesday’s Arlington County Board Primary and by local committees for elections selecting President Electors, School Board Endorsements and Straw Poll Winners with the help of instant tabulation software like Election Buddy which we are using at the convention.
Research has shown that Instant Runoff Voting increases candidate participation and incentivizes coalition-building in primary elections which empowers under-represented communities like women and people of color.
As a member of UpVote Virginia I have advocated for various forms of legislation sponsored by Democrats via constituent meetings in Richmond and testimony in hearings via zoom.
Instant Runoff Voting is also a big help to our veterans and other folks who have to vote by mail who have to decide which primary candidate to support well in advance of Election Day.
The use of Instant Runoff Voting also helps Democrats in general elections when third party candidates tend to attract younger voters that lean more progressive and might support Democrats.
Case in point, when George W. Bush was elected without a majority of the vote and Ralph Nader was considered the “spoiler” as well as when Donald Trump was elected and Jill Stein was considered a spoiler because she probably grabbed voters that would have supported Hillary Clinton.
In 2024, we might be facing a similar challenge in states with third-party candidates on the ballot so it would have been nice if we could convince those voters to at least put Joe Biden down as their second choice.
We witnessed this solution in action in 2018 when Democratic Congressman Jared Golden won a U.S. House seat in Maine with the help of Instant Runoff Voting (NPR story) and DNC Chair Tom Perez said he is a big fan.
Instant Runoff Voting is also a safe option because it is optional as you can only rank one candidate if you wish. Otherwise, if your first choice gets the least votes then they can be used for a more viable candidate until someone achieves a 50%+1 Majority.
This is why I submitted a convention resolution supporting the vast majority of the Democrats in the General Assembly who voted to advance a bill to empower localities to expand their use of “Instant Runoff Voting” that Governor Youngkin just vetoed.
I look forward to advocating for my Democracy Platform and Instant Runoff Voting as the Democratic Party can be a great laboratory to show how we can improve our democracy.
Regards,
Jim McBride
Candidate, Virginia DNC Member (At-Large)
Fairfax County State Delegate (VA-11)
703-867-5070