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CVD Co-Sponsors
Forum on
Ranked-Choice Voting Methods
The Center for Voting and
Democracy joined with the American Political Science Assocations'
Section on Representation and Electoral Systems to organize a
well-attended forum on ranked-choice voting methods. More than forty
people attended the Boston forum.
EVENT: Ranking the Vote -- Instant Runoff Voting and
Choice Voting in the USA and Abroad
WHEN: Wednesday, August 28, 2002, 1 pm - 5 pm
WHERE: Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Boston, Room AB
Reformers and students of government in the Boston
area have a unique opportunity this month to hear from leading
political scientists and reformers about an exciting new voting
system reform proposal in the United States: instant runoff voting.
In March, voters in San Francisco by a comfortable margin approved a
ballot measure to replace city runoffs with instant runoff voting,
while more than 50 town meetings in Vermont nearly unanimously voted
to support instant runoff voting for statewide elections.
Seen as a strong reform in itself and a sensible
complement to other reforms, particularly public financing of
elections (as currently practiced in Massachusetts, Vermont and
Maine), instant runoff voting has garnered coverage in Time
Magazine, been included in the Federal Election Commission's latest
voting system standards and supported by a growing number of elected
officials and reform leaders.
This year the American Political Science Association
has its annual convention in Boston. The APSA offers "short courses"
on the day before the convention to provide interested political
scientists, students and members of the public with the opportunity
to have scholars provide an indepth focus on an area of political
science.
One of this year's top draws among short courses
promises to be a session on "Comparative Perspectives on American
Electoral Reform," that will take place on Wednesday, August 28,
starting at 1 pm. Organized by the Center for Voting and Democracy
and the APSA's Section on Representation and Electoral Systems, the
course will focus on ranked-choice voting methods -- in particular
instant runoff voting and the choice voting system of proportional
representation used to elect the Cambridge city council and school
committee. Leading reformers and scholars will discus the prospects
for further use of ranked-choice systems in the United States and
assess the cost and benefits of the use of these methods in major
elections in nations such as Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom
and Fiji.
Here is the agenda.
* Master of ceremonies: Edward Still (Attorney,
Birmingham Alabama and board member, Center for Voting and
Democracy)
* Instant Runoff Voting: Possible Applications in the
United States 1-2:15 pm
- Mickey Edwards (Kennedy School
professor and former Congressman, R-Oklahoma)
- Rob Richie
(Center for Voting and Democracy)
- Richard Engstrom (professor,
Univ. of New Orleans)
- Terry Bouricius (former Vermont state
legislator)
- Vilan Odekar (Northeast Action)
* Lessons for Reformers from Preferential Voting
Elections, 2:30-3:45 pm
- Michael Gallagher (Trinity College,
Dublin)
- Malcolm Mackerras (Australian Defense Force Acad.)
- Ben Reilly (U.N. / Australian National University)
- David
Farrell (University of Manchester)
- Robert Winters (Harvard
University)
* Election Administration of Preferential Voting 4-5
pm
- George Goverman (City of Cambridge, Mass.)
- Michael
Gallagher (Trinity College, Dublin)
- Malcolm Mackerras
(Australian Defense Force Academy) |
