Sightline Institute

Alaska’s groundbreaking election system of open primaries and ranked choice voting narrowly survived a repeal effort.? In just the few years it’s been in effect, the system has delivered more inclusive primary elections, allowed lawmakers to govern in less polarized ways, eliminated “spoiler candidates,” and greatly reduced the chance that candidates win elections without majority support.

In Portland’s first use of its new elections system, voters chose mostly newcomers for their council, who form a mini-portrait of the city. Researchers Shannon Grimes and Jay Lee found that, thanks to proportional ranked choice voting, far more Portland voters supported a winning city council candidate than in previous single-winner elections. Across all four districts, at least 75 percent of voters ranked one of the three winners in their top six candidates.?

Here's what we've been up to this fall: gathering to press apples, quizzing you with trivia nights, and celebrating our shared vision. Thank you for being part of our story. Your energy and kindness have a profound impact—with your support, we can build a bright future. The work doesn’t stop. And neither will we. ?? Join us at sightline.org/support

The PNW is mostly made up of childcare deserts: places where there are at least three children per licensed childcare slot. And local parking mandates—the onerous, arbitrary rules defining how much parking a building must provide on-site—are making the daycare shortage worse. New daycare centers must sacrifice play area and square footage for parking spots, reducing the number of children they can care for or forcing them to cancel building plans altogether. But senior researcher Catie Gould found that towns like Sandy, Oregon have caught on, and they’re fixing the outdated parking rules that are holding them back.

Election after election, legislators who support options like duplexes, townhomes, and apartments overwhelmingly tend to win their races. The pattern held up last week—pro-housing candidates in Washington, Oregon, and Montana were re-elected by a landslide. It’s consistent with polling and political science suggesting that opposition to new housing is loud but narrow, while its sweeping support is less vocal. Director of Cities + Towns Michael Andersen breaks down the misconception that good housing policies are bad for political campaigns.

Washington ballot Initiative 2066, which will hinder the state’s efforts to reduce climate pollution from buildings, eked out a victory with a 3-point margin. At the same time, Washington voters overwhelmingly defended the state’s Climate Commitment Act. ?What explains the contradiction? ? (CliffsNotes: It comes down to money, messaging, and movement backing.) Plus—a look at what could be next for cleaner, healthier buildings in WA.

From Senior Director Dan Bertolet: how to solve the biggest problem in housing politics and policy. #InclusionaryZoning #HousingPolicy #Seattle

My first piece for Sightline Institute is live! Most state and federal elected officials in/from Montana take office with over 50% of the vote. But in some cases, a majority of voters actually choose *other* candidates in the race. In other words, the ultimate winner of the election is not the first choice of most voters. The "plurality winner problem" encourages the two major parties to boost third parties as spoilers in general elections; and research shows that plurality-vote winners in primary elections go on to do worse in the general. Most states have electoral systems that present the same plurality pitfalls as Montana, but some—including Alaska, Georgia, Maine, and Washington—provide alternative models that ensure majority-winner elections. https://lnkd.in/ekiujuS8

Join us tonight for a Town Hall Seattle talk on the city's Democracy Voucher Program!

Parking mandates—decades-old rules derived from guesswork—are amplifying Washington’s housing shortage and hindering local businesses.?? A new report by senior researcher Catie Gould found parking ratios vary widely across city and county lines, but that **local laws consistently mandate an excess of parking that is out of sync with actual car ownership.** The result is glut of pavement, demolitions to make way for parking, sprawling outward to open spaces—or not building at all.