Polls often show dissatisfaction among voters with the current political system. An emerging alternative to standard elections is getting some attention in Wisconsin, with organizers touting such benefits as less-negative campaigns.

What's known as "Final Five Voting" has been adopted in a couple of states, and there is a proposal in Wisconsin. The process involves sending the top five vote-getters in a primary race, from all parties combined, to the general election. Voters would then get to rank them on their general election ballot.

Danny Akenson, field organizer for the Bridge the Divide initiative, said it compels candidates to ditch the toxic nature of campaigns.

"What that sort of incentivizes is for people to be a little less hostile when they're running against their fellow candidates," Akenson explained. "Because instead of just getting one vote from someone, you have to get their second-place vote or their third-place vote."

For the general election, the person in first place would need to get more than 50% of the vote, or an instant runoff would occur. Wisconsin's bill to adopt this process has bipartisan support, but it is unclear if legislative leaders will allow debate. Policy analysts said while Final Five Voting is worth exploring, there might be unintended consequences, including confusing the voters.

Akenson pointed out Bridge the Divide is educating western Wisconsin residents through social gatherings, where attendees can practice Final Five Voting by ranking things like desserts. He feels this process could be appealing to most voters, because they would no longer feel powerless when casting their ballot, potentially boosting turnout in the primaries.

"The primary elections have become increasingly sort of dangerous for candidates to run in," Akenson observed. "Just about 15% or 20% of Wisconsinites show up in the primary election."

However, last year, the state did see its highest primary turnout in 40 years, at nearly 26%. The Wisconsin plan would first cover races for federal seats only. Organizers say depending on its effectiveness, it could be expanded down the road.

This coming Saturday, North Dakotans will get a chance to see how election workers go to great lengths to ensure a safe and secure voting process. Those hosting a film screening say the timing is crucial given the current political environment.

The League of Women Voters is offering a free viewing of the documentary "No Time to Fail" in Bismarck - and virtually, too.

The film provides a behind-the-scenes look at election staff in Rhode Island, at the height of the pandemic during the 2020 vote.

Kathy Tweeten is president of the League's Bismarck-Mandan chapter. She said she thinks the project dispels misinformation still being floated out there, such as electronic machines compromising elections.

"It's a paper ballot that's put in the machine," said Tweeten, "which counts the votes, and it's still available for auditing after Election Day and all the ballots have been cast."

There's an effort to get a ballot question before North Dakota voters, asking to overhaul election policies, such as banning the machines.

And the League recently took legal action to block a lawsuit seeking to limit the counting of mail-in ballots. Those behind such efforts often cite the need to bolster election integrity.

Meanwhile, the screening begins at 1 p.m. in the North Dakota Heritage Center. It also will be shown online at that time.

Nationwide, analysts say the fallout from the 2020 election has fueled more hateful rhetoric toward election workers, making recruitment harder. Tweeten said she hopes the film inspires more people to take on these roles.

"It's not an easy job but it's a very rewarding one," said Tweeten. "And I hope more people will take the opportunity to work at the polls or at least become an observer, so you know what's going on."

She reinforced what other election experts have noted: These workers are part of the communities they serve, and they receive training before helping out at a polling site.

After Saturday's film screening, there will be a panel discussion including election staff and the McKenzie County Auditor.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.




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It's Hispanic Heritage Month, and one Nevada organization wants Latinos to realize the power they can have when they are more politically engaged. The U.S. Census Bureau says Hispanics and Latinos make up over 30% of the state's population.

With the group Battle Born Progress, Latino Anti-Disinformation Manager Maite Guerra said politicians are already campaigning around this fact for the next elections.

Guerra added that the Nevada Hispanic population is hungry for reputable information and resources, especially in their native Spanish. So, Battle Born Progress is now working on an information hub for Spanish speakers across the Silver State.

"While it's not up yet, it is something we are planning to do," said Guerra. "Something else that we are doing is fact checking a lot of right-wing politicians - so, just making sure that what is being said in the political sphere is accurate, and not targeting our community."

Guerra said having accurate, accessible information is critical.

The Latino research organization Equis released a report exploring 2022 voting trends and how those portend for 2024.

It found Latino voters who see the economy as their top issue voted overwhelmingly Republican, but at lower than expected rates.

Those who prioritize abortion access were a smaller group and voted Democrat - but at higher than predicted rates.

Guerra said one of her organization's partners, Make the Road Nevada, will hold an immigrant career summit this month to help empower the Latino community.

Topics will include everything from how to get a business license to becoming familiar with the citizenship solicitation process.

"I think a lot of people maybe don't know how to take that step on how to become a citizen," said Guerra. "Being able to provide those resources is really important, and I think overall builds engagement towards our community, because I think it shows that we care."

Guerra encouraged Nevadans to enjoy the Hispanic Heritage Month events happening around the state - but to also not forget that learning more about their local issues and politics will be helpful year-round.

Across Utah, 10 cities will be using ranked choice voting in the general election in November.

In 2018, Utah passed a bill to establish a pilot program in which cities could use ranked choice voting.

Kelleen Potter, executive director of Utah Ranked Choice Voting, said the voting method "allows voters to express their will more fully." She pointed out ranked choice voting also encourages civility, especially among candidates who can work to appeal to more voters when they're looking to secure second- and third-choice support.

"So instead of this 'all or nothing' -- 'they're my friend, they're my enemy' -- you start looking at it differently, as a candidate and as a voter, where we're trying to come to a consensus and solve the problems we have in our jurisdictions, in our cities," Potter outlined.

Potter is convinced ranked choice voting is positive for democracy. In order for any candidate to be elected, they must receive 50% of the votes, unlike the current voting system. Potter added no voting method is perfect and said they are trying to educate Utahns and elections officials, some of whom have argued it is too confusing.

So far, they have found younger voters seem to be embracing the idea of ranked choice voting. Potter, who has run for public office herself, said the method is gaining popularity, but is taking longer in more conservative states. However, according to FairVote.org, Utah has the most cities of any state to be using ranked choice voting.

"We saw that in every city, over 50% of the voters liked it, and that ranged up to the 80s and 90s in some cities," Potter reported. "We find that voters, after they've used it, and it doesn't seem so scary, and they go, 'Oh yeah, this makes sense to me.' They tend to really like it."

Potter contended ranked choice voting also saves cities money by only needing to hold one general election in November, rather than an August primary followed by another election in November.


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