How To Fix Our Broken Election System

Title - How To Fix Our Broken Election System

Speaker - Colin Cole, Director of Policy, Outreach, and Communications at More Equitable Democracy

Location - Tandem Coffee & Wine in East Sacramento

Our election system is broken. Gerrymandering and other systemic problems have made representation unequal and unfair all across the country. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can change the rules that govern our elections to make them more fair and more representative, and we could potentially save our democracy in the process. Colin Cole is here to show us how the U.S. could improve its democracy by dismantling our winner-take-all elections and transitioning to a system of proportional representation. He'll explain what that looks like, and why it's the solution that may make our elections much fairer.  

Repairing a broken democracy isn't a fantasy, it's something other countries have actually pulled off. From South Africa to New Zealand, Northern Ireland to Chile, deeply divided nations have rebuilt their elections to better reflect the people who vote in them. You'll walk away from this lecture with a clearer sense of why our elections work the way they do, what changes are needed, and why real reform may be closer than you might think.

Colin Cole is one of the country's foremost advocates for proportional representation and serves as Director of Policy, Outreach, and Communications at More Equitable Democracy. For nearly a decade, he has dedicated his work to building the campaigns, coalitions, and political conditions in which proportional representation can take root in the United States - starting local, building proof, and laying the groundwork for a democracy designed to represent everyone.

A co-founder of FairVote Washington and a longtime architect of MED's policy and organizing strategy, Colin has worked alongside community-of-color-led coalitions across the country to advance electoral reforms that move power closer to the people most often left out of it. He brings a practitioner's eye to every conversation, with prior experience across grassroots, electoral, and issue-advocacy campaigns, including progressive tax reform in Washington State and the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. He holds an Executive Masters of Public Administration from the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy & Governance.

Tandem is a coffee shop by day and a bar by night. They have rotating beers on tap as well as a large selections of wines by the glass, as well as non-alcoholic beverages. Their full food menu will be available during this event.

All Common Knowledge events are 21+

Schedule: Please note that this Sunday lecture begins an hour earlier than our weeknight lectures. 

5pm - Doors Open - grab a drink and mingle. We'll have trivia questions on the screen and some surprises

6pm - Program begins with an intro & prize giveaway

6:15pm - Lecture begins

7pm - Q&A

7:15pm - mingle, meet the speaker, discuss ideas from the lecture

8pm - You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here

What to Expect:

Common Knowledge is Sacramento's premiere bar lecture series. 

At Common Knowledge we believe that learning something new is the most rewarding and fun thing you can do. We're about bringing diverse people and ideas together to have a great time.

This event is open seating so come when door open to to grab a drink and a seat. Before the lecture we'll have music and trivia questions on the screen. We'll also have a fun, low pressure "side quest"  where you can compete to win a free drink. 

The lecture will last for 45 minutes and are made for an intelligent, general audience so you don't need any specialized background to have a great time. After the lecture, there will be 15 minutes for Q&A and then the bar will be open to hang out, meet the speaker, and discuss the ideas you just heard.

The bar will close at 8pm.

 Parking:

Tandem has an attached parking lot and there is a parking garage next door that’s open to the public. There is also ample street parking on N Street around the corner.

Policies:

All Common Knowledge events are 21+

No hidden ticket fees. The price you see is the price you pay. Period.

Change your mind? Cancellation is easy. Just hit the "manage tickets" button on the top right corner of this page. You may cancel your ticket for a full refund up to 48 hours before the event.

Orders of 6 tickets or more need to contact our customer service team in order to cancel. 

We treat our guests like family so if there is anything you need, just get in touch: hello@cklectures.com

Accessibility: We strive to make all of our lectures 100% accessible for everyone. If you have specific accessibility needs please email us at least 72 hours ahead of the lecture to plan to attend: hello@cklectures.com

Students! We offer a student discount - just email hello@cklectures.com from your university email address and we'll send you a discount code.

Common Knowledge is for everyone! If you want to attend an event but can't afford a full price ticket we have you covered. Just email us at hello@cklectures.com and we'll help you out.

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