Cary's mistake


By Carol Everett
Published May 14th 2009 in News and Observer
I was very disappointed to learn in your May 8 Under the Dome that our Cary Town Council members decided against further use of Instant Runoff Voting, especially since the majority of Cary residents in two different polls voted overwhelmingly in favor of IRV. This voting method also had broad-based support from many local organizations.

In these difficult times of economic stress, IRV was a commonsense solution that could have saved the town of Cary the tens of thousands of dollars required to hold poorly attended runoff elections.

Fortunately for residents of the town of Hendersonville, they do have council members who listen to their constituents. Hendersonville's forward-thinking town council wisely voted to continue to use IRV. May it serve them well.
IRV Soars in Twin Cities, FairVote Corrects the Pundits on Meaning of Election Night '09
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers.  Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections;  the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.

And as pundits try to make hay out of the national implications of Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections, Rob Richie in the Huffington Post concludes that the gubernatorial elections have little bearing on federal elections.

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