Last year, RCVRC was excited to launch our first-ever internship program. Ryan Kirby, our Public Policy Specialist, took the lead on building what has turned out to be a tremendous resource and capacity builder for our staff. In today’s episode, tune in to learn about our new summer interns and their journey to RCVRC.

Episode transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zc5lRAPzTHCoZupWeMaVHi-7FuaeB5SR/view

Resources mentioned in this episode:
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) - College of Arts & Sciences: Public Policy: https://publicpolicy.unc.edu/
- American University - School of Public Affairs: https://www.american.edu/spa/
- Texas Tech University - Department of Political Science: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/politicalscience/
- AP updates voting system for its NFL awards - Associated Press article: https://www.ap.org/press-releases/2022/ap-updates-voting-system-for-its-nfl-awards

RCVRC's Internship Program - From NC to Texas

In this episode, Chris sits down with Ryan Kirby, RCVRC's Director of Policy, and our Spring Intern Lexey. The team discusses RCVRC's internship program, Lexey's research project, and more!

Episode transcript:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/19iqZ8wcBlBOUgHUCvEStMqdYkyOyWc3T/view?usp=drive_link

Meet RCVRC's Spring Intern!

Leah Benson, Ranked Choice Voting Project Manager for Multnomah County, Oregon joins the podcast this month! She and Chris take a deep dive into the November 2024 elections in Portland, which marked the city's first time using RCV, and discuss the ins and outs of RCV implementation.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Portland Election Outcomes Report: https://www.portland.gov/auditor/elections/documents/election-outcomes-and-preliminary-voter-education-report-2024/download
- Multnomah County RCV explainer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMt_oG8CrUo

A Deep Dive Into Portland, Oregon's RCV Elections with Leah Benson

Imani Brooks, Policy Fellow with Legal Defense Fund, joins the podcast this month to give us an overview on State Voting Rights Acts (SVRAs) across the country. She and Chris discuss what SVRAs do, how to build a strong SVRA, and what you can do to help pass one in your state.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
- New York AG's office SVRA landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/resources/organizations/new-york-voting-rights-act
- Legal Defense Fund (LDF) SVRA landing page: https://www.naacpldf.org/state-voting-rights-protect-democracy/
- LDF + Center for American Progress explainer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUUG_fqycHs
- Brennan Center State Voting Laws: https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/voting-reform/state-voting-laws
- Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund voting rights page: https://www.aaldef.org/programs/voting-rights/
- Latino Justice voting rights page: https://www.latinojustice.org/en/voting-rights
- Campaign Legal Center SVRAs page: https://campaignlegal.org/cases-actions/strengthening-democracy-through-state-voting-rights-acts-state-vras
- Harvard Election Law Clinic: https://hls.harvard.edu/clinics/in-house-clinics/election-law-clinic/
- LDF SVRA Polling Key Findings Memo: https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025-01-16-Key-Findings-Memo4.pdf
- Democracy Diminished: State and Local Threats to Voting Post-Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder (Shelby County): https://tminstituteldf.org/publications/democracy-diminished/
- What Project 2025 Means for Black Communities: Voting Rights and Black Political Power: https://tminstituteldf.org/threats-to-voting-rights-project-2025/

February 2025: All About State Voting Rights Acts with Imani Brooks

RCVRC's Director of Policy Ryan Kirby joins the podcast this month to launch our brand-new Proportional Ranked Choice Voting Hand Count Toolkit! He and Kelly lay out the basics of PRCV, how to use the toolkit, and discuss the development process.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Toolkit: https://www.rcvresources.org/prcv-hand-count
- PRCV 101 video: https://youtu.be/eQC6tmr7nbk
- PRCV Fact Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C1CthOXU_L9bhdOizJy-NgdeJLELvhQQ/view
- Multnomah County Video: https://youtu.be/0dfuEIcWBgY?feature=shared


Introducing the Proportional Ranked Choice Voting Hand Count Toolkit

RCVRC's Senior Director of Programming & Outreach Tiffany Montemayor and RCTab Program Director Mat Ruberg joined the podcast this month to debrief Redondo Beach's first-ever RCV elections last month! Mat and Tiffany walk us through the whole experience, from getting RCTab certified in California through Redondo Beach's post-election manual tally of their RCV results.

All About Redondo Beach's First RCV Election!

In this episode of RCV Clips, co-hosts Kelly and Chris discuss the upcoming ranked choice voting (RCV) elections in Charlottesville, Virginia, and New York City. They explore the implementation of RCV in Charlottesville, including its proportional voting system, and reflect on New York City's experience with RCV since its adoption. The conversation also touches on the competitive nature of the upcoming mayoral election in NYC and the technology used in RCV elections, such as RCTAB. The episode concludes with a look ahead at future RCV elections across various jurisdictions.

Season Finale: RCV Elections 2025

Join Hosts Chris and Kelly as they launch the new season of RCV Clips. They talk about summer travels, RCV in this political moment, and set the stage for an exciting season of learning more about the basics of RCV and its place in the democracy landscape.

September 2025: RVC Clips Season Premiere: Back to Basics

Grace Ramsey, Co-Director of Democracy Rising, joins Chris to talk about socializing new forms of democracy and using community organizing principles in voter education.

Resources mentioned in this episode: 
Portland, OR RCV FAQ: https://www.portland.gov/vote/ranked-choice-voting
Democracy Rising: https://www.wearedemocracyrising.org/

Educating Voters through Community Organizing with Grace Ramsey

Sally Hudson, Executive Director of Ranked Choice Virginia, joins Chris to talk about Charlottesville, Virginia's use of proportional RCV this summer and how PRCV changes how power gets used in a democracy.  

Proportional RCV and Power Sharing in Charlottesville, Virginia with Sally Hudson

Join the Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center for our monthly podcast, where we cover ranked choice voting election administration topics ranging from drafting legislation to election certification. We'll have brief interviews with team members of the Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center, election administrators who have run RCV elections, and more, to tell us about the resources available through the RCVRC and best practices learned from running RCV elections.

RCVRC's Internship Program - From NC to Texas

RCV Resource Center