Steven Hill

journalist, author, cofounder FairVote, DemocracySOS New America, Ctr for Humane Tech, Berlin Social Sci Ctr,"Fixing Elections""Europe's Promise""Raw Deal"&more

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"Thomas Jefferson and the American Enlightenment – not so enlightened"
Sally Hemings was 3/4 white; her and TJ's six children were 7/8 white.Yet the racial politics & economy that demanded free slave labor insisted that 3/4 white = black = discrimination
https://t.co/nUMhZ5Pmhf

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"Mixed Economy, Sour Mood: Voter Anxiety Threatens Trump in November"
Heading to Nov elections, Trump economy's performance is mixed, says key economic indicators. Not great, but not horrible. Yet cost‑of‑living pain and rising debt and uncertainty have voters looking for change
https://t.co/mWzHyExl2N

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"How AI could directly impact elections and democracy"
Part II: the ability of autonomous AI bots to self-replicate and self-direct could have ominous repercussions for democracy. Autonomous AI agent-driven "influence campaigns" are already underway...
https://t.co/M6qKpbgaoR

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

@RickPildes @walterolson Fun! Next best thing to a Pulitzer LOL

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"Is Artificial Intelligence a threat to democracy and the human future?"
Recent scandals showing AI independence from human overseers augurs the rise of superintelligence threatening to upend human society and civilization. What will be democracy's fate?
https://t.co/t3PFzFdlWf

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"Eyewitness account of Swedish elections — too close to call, shifting coalitions"
Canadian pol sci Henry Milner reports from Stockholm
With thousands of ballots still to count, center-right bloc might take lead. But left-right coalitions are reshuffling
https://t.co/5Qz8Rw2xd4

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"German state election reveals a flaw in Party List PR"
The extreme right might win a bare majority of seats because of "wasted votes" and a lack of ranked ballots
https://t.co/AQ22WhHXXy
One-choice Party List PR shares one of the worst defects of plurality elections – if a voter picks wrong with their single choice, her/his vote gets wasted. And the number of wasted votes can be significant.
In Saxony-Anhalt, there were 16 political parties competing to win parliamentary seats, yet only six parties actually won seats. So voters for the other ten parties wasted their votes on losers. Those ten parties collectively earned just shy of 7% of the vote.
If the German system allowed all these small party voters to rank a backup choice, the remaining center-left parties most likely would have picked up nearly all of that 7% and resulted in a four party "firewall" coalition winning three more seats needed to form a governing coalition

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"Latest Trump plan to steal November elections: corrupt the Post Office and steal mail-in ballots"
Add that to mid-decade redistricting, executive orders, citizenship lists, ICE at the polls, sheriffs confiscating ballots, disinformation campaign and you have a multi-pronged plan to disrupt the Nov election and intimidate certain voters.
https://t.co/Mv09Z79lnp
Democrats need to adjust tactics: tell voters not to trust the mail or Postal Service. Instead, vote in person!

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"Why Communities Nationwide Are Halting AI Data Centers"
Water & electricity strains, secrecy, & fast‑track deals ignite a coast‑to‑coast backlash. Data center bans, recalls of backroom dealing politicians.And in both conservative & liberal cities & states
https://t.co/CADthfAYKf

[FairVote @fairvote]

"Instead of using single-seat districts, proportional ranked choice voting would advance fair & less polarized representation."

– @StevenHill1776 on ensuring fair representation post-Callais ⬇️
https://t.co/FbLVXCHKhI

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"Post-Callais: here’s the fairest way to realize 'representation for all'”
The magic of multi-seat districts elected by proportional representation (PR) would create a Congress that reflects the great diversity of America.
https://t.co/STcsMet0HM
Democrats, Republicans, white, black, brown, women, men, all would win fair representation no matter where they live and without gerrymandering. PR would lean into America's strength, instead of the nation being forever and bitterly divided. What are we waiting for?

[Steven Hill @StevenHill1776]

"The miracle of RCV’s ranked ballots"
https://t.co/IDMzoJu6d6
Ranked ballots are one of the wonders of modern representative democracy because they solve real democratic dilemmas that other methods can’t solve. Even a Party List Proportional method offers a voter only a single-choice and thereby replicates one of the worst defects of the truly antiquated “plurality wins all” method.
The profound facility of ranked ballots is under-appreciated, even as the incentives unleashed deliver better choices, better campaigns and better governance.