Ben Allen
\n Executive Director\,
Better Ballot Iowa
___________________ __
\n \nFriday\, July 17\, 2026 | 11:45 AM
– 1:00 PM
\n Plymouth Congregati
onal Church\, Waveland Hall
\n 41
26 Ingersoll Ave\, Des Moines
\n
** in-person event **
Better Ballot Iowa is
a new kind of political movement bringing togethe
r voters across the political spectrum — Republicans\, Democrats\, Independents\, 3r
d Party — around systemic improvem
ents to the way we conduct elections in order to m
ake our political life more positive\, constructiv
e\, and productive. The Iowan-founded\, Iowan-led
grassroots non-profit organization advocates for t
ransformative shifts in our elections with two sim
ple changes: the use of single open top-5 primarie
s and Ranked Choice Voting in the general election
.
How does that work? And how do we get there? Join Ben Allen\, Executiv e Director of Better Ballot Iowa\, at the July Cro ssroads to learn more about Iowa's voting systems and what we can do to make politics in America wor k for more Americans.
\n \nYou may make your reservation to attend in-person (no lunc h) by clicking on the "Register Now" button. There is no cost to attend\ , but your reservation is necessary to ensure enou gh seating.
\n \nIf you have any issues registering\, please email info @interfaithallianceiowa.org or call 515.279.8715.
\n \n < hr />\nABOUT OUR PRESENTER | Ben Allen is Executive Director of Better Ballot Iowa. His professional background is roote d in the publishing industry as a project manager and departmental lead\, creating photo-heavy infor mational and instructional books within the home i mprovement\, home design\, decorating\, and garden ing subject areas. Ben's stint at Meredith Corpora tion saw him help create more than 100 books for t he Better Homes and Gardens\, Ortho\, The Home Dep ot\, Stanley\, Miracle-Gro\, and Scotts brands\, a mong others.
\n \nBen has l ong served with non-profit organizations to help i mprove the community in which he lives with terms on the boards of the ACLU of Iowa\, Metro Arts Al liance\, and Master Gardeners of Polk County. He a lso volunteers with Iowa Citizens for Community Im provement.
\n \nWith a Mast er's degree in Journalism from the University of K ansas (go Jayhawks!)\, an MBA from Iowa State Univ ersity (go Cyclones!)\, and part of his childhood spent in Columbia\, Missouri (go Tigers!)\, Ben is often confused on who to root for at sporting eve nts. He lives in Des Moines with his wife\, Margue rite “Peggy” Fitch\, and two spoiled cats named Ch ester and Lily.
\n \nCrossroads is a monthly gathering of the Interfaith Alliance of I owa in Des Moines.
DESCRIPTION:\n \n \n \n Can Iowa improve its voting?\n \n \n B en Allen\n \n Executive Director\, Better Ballot I owa\n \n \n \n _____________________\n \n \n \n Fr iday\, July 17\, 2026 | 11:45 AM – 1:00 PM\n \n Plymouth Congregational Church\, Waveland Hall\n \ n 4126 Ingersoll Ave\, Des Moines\n \n ** in-perso n event **\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Better Ballot Iowa is a new kind of political movement bringing together voters across the political spectrum — R epublicans\, Democrats\, Independents\, 3rd Party — around systemic improvements to the way we condu ct elections in order to make our political life m ore positive\, constructive\, and productive. The Iowan-founded\, Iowan-led grassroots non-profit or ganization advocates for transformative shifts in our elections with two simple changes: the use of single open top-5 primaries and Ranked Choice Voti ng in the general election.\n \n \n \n How does th at work? And how do we get there? Join Ben Allen\, Executive Director of Better Ballot Iowa\, at the July Crossroads to learn more about Iowa's voting systems and what we can do to make politics in Am erica work for more Americans.\n \n \n \n \n You m ay make your reservation to attend in-person (no l unch) by clicking on the "Register Now" button. Th ere is no cost to attend\, but your reservation is necessary to ensure enough seating.\n \n \n \n If you have any issues registering\, please email in fo@interfaithallianceiowa.org (mailto:info@interfa ithallianceiowa.org) or call 515.279.8715 (tel:515 2798715).\n \n \n \n \n ABOUT OUR PRESENTER | Ben Allen is Executive Director of Better Ballot Iowa. His professional background is rooted in the publ ishing industry as a project manager and departmen tal lead\, creating photo-heavy informational and instructional books within the home improvement\, home design\, decorating\, and gardening subject a reas. Ben's stint at Meredith Corporation saw him help create more than 100 books for the Better Hom es and Gardens\, Ortho\, The Home Depot\, Stanley\ , Miracle-Gro\, and Scotts brands\, among others.\ n \n \n \n Ben has long served with non-profit org anizations to help improve the community in which he lives with terms on the boards of the ACLU of I owa\, Metro Arts Alliance\, and Master Gardeners of Polk County. He also volunteers with Iowa Citiz ens for Community Improvement.\n \n \n \n With a M aster's degree in Journalism from the University o f Kansas (go Jayhawks!)\, an MBA from Iowa State U niversity (go Cyclones!)\, and part of his childho od spent in Columbia\, Missouri (go Tigers!)\, Ben is often confused on who to root for at sporting events. He lives in Des Moines with his wife\, Mar guerite “Peggy” Fitch\, and two spoiled cats named Chester and Lily.\n \n \n \n Crossroads is a mont hly gathering of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa i n Des Moines.\n \n CATEGORIES:Event c3 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN DTSTAMP;TZID=America/Chicago:20260717T114500 DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260717T114500 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260717T130000 URL:https://interfaithallianceiowa.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=299 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR