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American Prospect
Instant
Ideas
February 25, 2002 Electoral reform in Congress
may have a positive impact for those pushing instant runoff voting
(IRV). With nearly $3 billion likely to be flowing to the states to
modernize voting equipment, IRV has become technically feasible. In
an IRV system, voters have the option to rank as many candidates as
they wish�their favorite candidate first, their next-favorite
second, and so on. If no candidate is the first choice of more than
half the voters, the ballots are redistributed to reflect voters�
second and third choices until someone wins a majority of the
ballots and is declared the winner. This alternative voting system,
promoted by the Center for Voting and Democracy
(www.fairvote.org/irv) has gained more political appeal in the wake
of the last U.S. presidential election, because voters want to be
able to register preferences for independent parties and candidates
without being seen as spoilers. Supporters in states and cities
where IRV is being considered tend to be those most disenfranchised
by the current plurality system�not only the independent parties,
but some major parties, like the Democrats in New Mexico, who have
been losing races to Republicans partly because of support for Green
candidates. San Franciscans may become the vanguards for IRV when
they vote in March on an IRV city charter amendment. If approved, it
will be the first ballot measure to implement the system in the
United States since Ann Arbor adopted it in 1974. Advocates in the
Bay Area include the local Democratic Party, the AFL-CIO, the Sierra
Club, and Common Cause. If successful, surrounding communities might
follow suit�Oakland, Berkeley, and Santa Clara County. Alaska will
consider a ballot initiative in August, and two dozen town meetings
in Vermont will vote on IRV in the spring. Congress and more than a
dozen legislatures have considered IRV proposals, but thus far none
has approved such an election reform. |
