The Free & Equal Elections Foundation is a 501 non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States, the mission of which is to empower American voters through education and advocacy of electoral reforms. Free & Equal leads national, state, and local efforts to open the electoral process in the United States by hosting all-inclusive gubernatorial, Presidential, and senatorial debates; organizing Electoral Reform Symposiums; producing United We Stand tours; and supporting individuals running for office. Free & Equal was first organized in 1982 as the Foundation for Free Campaigns and Elections, before being formally reorganized in 2008 by Christina Tobin, an American activist and leader in the election reform and voters' rights movement.
Free & Equal hosted an open debate along with Student Voices Count at the University of Colorado Boulder's Macky Auditorium on October 25, 2016. Originally, all presidential candidates with ballot access sufficient to represent a majority of electoral votes were invited. in October 2016, Free and Equal extended the invitation to all candidates with ballot lines representing at least fifteen percent of potential voters: the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Reform, and Socialism and Liberation parties, as well as independent candidate Evan McMullin. Gary Johnson, who participated in the 2012 debate, had already publicly declined in July 2016 to debate Jill Stein on The Young Turks because of a matter of "just time".
2020
Free & Equal hosted an open debate along with Student Voices Count at the University of Colorado Boulder's Macky Auditorium on October 25, 2016. Originally, all presidential candidates with ballot access sufficient to represent a majority of electoral votes were invited. in October 2016, Free and Equal extended the invitation to all candidates with ballot lines representing at least fifteen percent of potential voters: the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Reform, and Socialism and Liberation parties, as well as independent candidate Evan McMullin. Gary Johnson, who participated in the 2012 debate, had already publicly declined in July 2016 to debate Jill Stein on The Young Turks because of a matter of "just time".
Electoral Reform Symposiums
Since 2009, Free & Equal has hosted electoral reform symposiums to unite intellectuals and experts to share and debate reforms to the U.S. electoral system. Past panelists and speakers include President of The League of Women Voters of Colorado Nancy Crow, Deputy Secretary of State of Colorado Suzanne Staiert, Founder of FairVoteRob Richie, Founder of Nexus Earth Colin Cantrell, Founder of Ballot Access NewsRichard Winger and more.
United We Stand Tour
In 2014, Free & Equal launched United We Stand, a festival and tour uniting the younger generations with musicians, artists, and thought leaders to promote political and cultural change. Since its inception, the tour has made stops at Belasco Theater in Los Angeles in 2014 and 2015, University of Colorado Boulder in 2016, and Texas A&M University in 2018. The 2019 tour includes Indiana, Texas, Colorado, Oregon, and Tennessee.
