Rob Richie

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Robert Richie (born 1962), is the executive director of the FairVote, a non-profit organization that researches and advocates election reforms that increase voter turnout, accountable governance and fair representation. A particular expert on international and domestic electoral systems, Richie has directed FairVote (formerly called the Center for Voting and Democracy) since its founding in 1992.

Among his activities at FairVote, Richie has:

• Addressed the Voting Section of the U. S. Department of Justice, the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency, the Lincoln Day dinners of the Alaska Republican Party in Juneau and Anchorage, the annual conventions of the American Political Science Association, National Association of Counties, Unitarian Universalism, and National Conference of State Legislatures and several groups of foreign dignitaries through the United States Information Agency.

• Worked with congressional staff in writing numerous pieces of legislation, including the States' Choice of Voting Systems Act (1999) and Bipartisan Federal Elections Review Act (2001).

• Testified in special sessions before charter commissions in Nassau County (New York), Miami Beach (Florida), Cincinnati (Ohio), Austin (Texas) and Detroit (Michigan) and before state legislative committees in Alaska, Vermont, Virginia and Washington and advised charter commissions and elected officials in several other cities and states.

• Helped organize six well-attended national conferences on electoral system reform and worked with state reformers supporting fair election methods.

• Toured New Zealand at the invitation of electoral reformers during a successful referendum campaign in that country in 1993 to adopt a full representation voting system.

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Richie is a frequent source for print, radio and television journalists and has published commentary in such publications as New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, Nation, National Civic Review, Boston Review, Christian Science Monitor and Legal Times. His writings have appeared in seven books since 1999, including the feature essay in Whose Votes Count (Beacon Press, 2001). Richie has been a guest on many radio and television programs.

Born in Washington, D.C., Richie graduated from Haverford College with a B.A. in philosophy in 1987. Before co-founding the Center for Voting and Democracy and becoming its director in 1992, he worked for three winning congressional campaigns in Washington state, and for non-profit organizations in Washington and the District of Columbia. He is currently married to Cynthia Terrell, who serves on the Board of Directors of The Center for Voting and Democracy.