MISSION

Issues concerning the election of the country’s President and Vice-President have rarely been as intense and divisive as they are today. The MEVC Foundation’s goal is to educate the public about strengths and weaknesses of the current presidential electoral system, possible reforms (including new ones) and strategies for enacting reforms. Read more about our mission, the problems we’re fighting against, and the possible solutions.

LATEST UPDATES:

The Electoral College System in the 2024 Election Virtual Event

Recently, over 60 participants joined co-hosts MEVCF and the Leadership Now Project for a discussion about the impact of the Electoral College on the 2024 election. Our distinguished speakers, including Michigan Secretary of State, the Honorable Jocelyn Benson, shared how the electoral system has led to this divisive moment in U.S. political history and how we can move towards a more representative democracy.

Matt Shapanka, Special Counsel at Covington & Burling and former Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration, set the foundation for the event by providing background on the Electoral College and election law. Larry Schwartztol, Professor of Practice and Faculty Director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic at Harvard Law School and former Associate White House Counsel and Special Assistant to President Biden, discussed how the Constitution provides an unstable architecture for presidential elections and addressed how the newly updated ECRA might provide some structure and clarity in this year’s election. Finally, Sam Wang, Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Princeton Neuroscience Institute and founder of the Princeton Election Consortium, encouraged participants to target their votes and political efforts on the state and local level to strengthen our democracy and create the conditions for future Electoral College reform.

If you would like to view a recording of this event, please email info@makingeveryvotecount.com.

The Inaugural Jonathan D. Blake Leadership Award Presented to Paul J. Tagliabue

The Jonathan D. Blake Leadership Award is named in honor of Jon Blake, MEVCF’s longtime advisor who passed away on May 21, 2024. Following a long and illustrious career as a telecommunications lawyer and partner at Covington & Burling, Jon dedicated much of the last seven years of his life to Electoral College reform and helped steer MEVCF’s course until his final days. The MEVCF board of directors created the award in Jon’s honor to recognize an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to ensuring that the process used to elect the President reflects core democratic values and to advancing discussion of the presidential election system.

On September 25, 2024, MEVCF presented the inaugural Jonathan D. Blake Leadership Award to Paul J. Tagliabue, who has worked tirelessly with MEVCF and many other organizations and individuals to ensure election integrity and protect voters. Jon and Paul were friends for over 50 years, much of that time as Covington colleagues. They shared not only their work, both at Covington and during Paul’s service as NFL Commissioner from 1989 until 2006, but also their deep commitment to strengthening our democracy. Paul worked with Jon, along with Making Every Vote Count, Inc. and many other organizations, to successfully press for passage of the Electoral Count Reform Act to fix the broken system that contributed to the events of January 6, 2021. Paul has also been deeply engaged in anti-racism and social justice efforts, and he has worked with military veterans and sports leaders to promote fair elections.

To make a tax-deductible contribution to MEVCF in Jon Blake’s honor, please donate HERE.

“We Need to Talk About The Electoral College”: Elizabeth Cavanagh Discusses Electoral College Reform on the Civic Encounter Podcast and in a Recent Interview

Civic Encounter Episode 13 - Listen Here!

On a recent podcast episode of Civic Encounter, Elizabeth Cavanagh, CEO and Chair of the Making Every Vote Count Foundation (MEVC), delves into the urgent need for electoral college reform in the United States. The conversation explored the historical shortcomings of the Electoral College and examined the potential reforms highlighted in MEVC's recent report. For a written summary of the conversation, click here.

Contreras Report Interview - Watch Here!

Additionally, in an interview with West Coast journalist Raoul Contreras, Elizabeth further highlights the need for electoral college reform. This interview delves into the undemocratic possibility of the “continent election system” and why electoral college reform is a nonpartisan issue that effectively disenfranchises both Republicans and Democrats.

MEVC Report on Improving Our Electoral College System

MEVC is pleased to share this Report on Improving Our Electoral College System, which we prepared in consultation with nonprofit organizations, academics, political leaders, and others over the past year. The Report discusses the ways in which our current presidential election system operates to distort our politics and thwart the will of voters and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the five leading reform proposals. The Report also sets out initial outreach and education strategies MEVC will use to broaden the base of voters, thought leaders, and political commentators who are engaged with these issues. To that end, we have issued a press release and developed an action plan to increase MEVC's media presence and national role through 2024, with the goal of sparking a national conversation about the Electoral College and paths to reform.

Elizabeth A. Cavanagh

Chair/CEO, Making Every Vote Count

2023 Year-End Update from the MEVC CEO & Chair of the Board

As we enter 2024—what may be the most critical year in our democracy—we offer a year-end update of our 2023 activities and emphasize our commitment to building a better future for our country and our presidential election system. This year-end update is on Making Every Vote Count’s (MEVC) ambitious plans, building on the achievements of 2023 and on the leadership role we have carved out for MEVC and its collaborating groups and individuals. We believe our role is to serve as objective assessors of the Electoral College system and how it works, as well as to draw attention and transparency to the harms it creates and to the reform proposals for improving it. MEVC is expanding its capabilities to deliver the groundbreaking insights that we have developed this past year.

Early in 2023, MEVC joined by collaborating groups and individuals, launched a two-pronged strategy to address the problems with our presidential election system and the Electoral College on which that system is based. One initiative has been to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the leading presidential election reform proposals. The other has been to broaden the base of Americans who are aware of and concerned about these issues, have a strong stake in them, and are willing to engage with them. MEVC has specifically identified and performed outreach to underrepresented groups and young voters as well as independent voters. These groups represent more voters than members of the two national parties combined.

In April 2023, MEVC hosted, with the Leadership Now Project, a well-received program on the harms and dangers of the Electoral College system and on reform options. Following that event, we assembled an active working group with considerable expertise and diverse views, who contributed to the preparation of a report outlining the ways in which our current system operates to distort our politics and thwart the will of the voters, as well as evaluating the leading reform proposals. We presented and discussed the working group's findings and plans at a September Zoom program with a select group of invitees, all deeply interested in these issues but not necessarily committed to a single reform option.

Since September 2023, MEVC has improved and expanded upon our Report on Improving Our Electoral College System, incorporating feedback from many organizations and including material on the impact of the Electoral College on underrepresented groups and young voters.

In the face of many dangerous problems in our politics, we cannot lose sight of the fundamental structural issues that threaten our democracy and will continue to do so in 2024 and beyond.  As a result, any size donation to MEVC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is deeply appreciated and will help bring about further collaboration and important change to help strengthen our democracy.

Elizabeth A. Cavanagh

Chair/CEO, Making Every Vote Count Foundation

TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION

Try Our Electoral College Reform Simulator

Use our presidential election simulator to see how different swing states may change the outcome of the presidential election. This simulator demonstrates how a small number of votes in a few states could swing the election, despite large margins on the popular vote.

To learn more about our affiliated 501(c)(4) organization, visit the Making Every Vote Count, Inc. website.