New Haven Register
Letters
January 03,
2003 'Instant runoff voting' would promote democracy in state
Since the state has a task force considering the reform of primary
elections, its members should consider measures that go beyond the
number of delegates or petition signatures that are required to get
on the ballot. One important way to increase democracy would be to
have instant runoff voting, or IRV. This simple system ensures that
a winning candidate will receive a majority of votes rather than a
simple plurality. IRV eliminates the need for runoff elections by
allowing voters to rank their candidates in order of preference. It
guarantees that a voter's favorite candidate will not "spoil" the
winning chances of his or her No. 2 candidate. Such a system would
be ideal for primary elections. After proving its success in the
primaries, IRV could be introduced into the general election as
well. If the leadership of the two major political parties wanted
to promote democracy in Connecticut, they would adopt instant runoff
voting. Jeffry Larson
Hamden |