On August 11, 2003, a diverse coalition of citizen groups and San Francisco voters -- including the Congress of California Seniors, Chinese Progressive Association, San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO, California PIRG, Center for Voting and Democracy, Enrique Asis, Gwenn Craig, Arthur Chang, and Tracy Baxter - filed a lawsuit on August 11, 2003 in State Superior Court against the SF Elections Commission, Department of Elections, and the Director of Elections for failure to implement the law of San Francisco which mandates instant runoff voting.

Affer a flurry of briefs, the judge presided over a lively oral argument on August 20 and praised both the attorneys for the City and the attorneys for our Center for their conduct and preparation. Although conceding much of the arguments of the plaintiffs, he ruled that the Director of Elections, if operating in good faith, has the authority to postpone implementation of the new IRV law in order to maintain election integrity. Here is additional background. 

Statement from Steven Hill at August 11, 2003 news conference
Link to Key Documents in Lawsuit