Big
Wins!
Interest in fair elections systems for student
elections around the country has been gaining momentum. More
and more schools are following the recommendations of Roberts Rules
of Order and using instant runoff
voting (also called "preferential voting") for single winner
elections like student body president. And some schools have also
added the choice voting method of full representation
for their legislative elections.
This has been evidenced by victories
at several U.S. universities in 2003, including Tufts
University and Wake Forest..
Tufts University
On April 27 the Tufts student body
approved a new constitution for the Tufts Community Union. IRV was
included in the new version both for the presidential election and
the internal election of committee chairs. Read the approved revisions
to the
constitution.
Wake Forest
University
After an especially contentious
delayed runoff election this spring, the WFUSG voted to adopt IRV
for all executive elections at a meeting on April 28.
Building on our
Success
Fair
elections systems such as instant runoff voting and choice voting are
especially suited to student government elections because of the diverse
voting population and the high possibility for three or more
candidates. The Center for Voting and Democracy, as the nation���s
leading advocate of these reforms is interested in improving student
government elections for all students. This site will provide an
introduction to possible reforms and why they fit into the student
government format.
In addition, we are currently compiling a list
of Student Governments that engage in some kind of fair elections
method. This list will serve as a clearinghouse of examples
for other schools to follow. Some schools currently use only IRV or
only Choice Voting, and some use both. We have separated the site
into two sections.
Schools with Instant Runoff
Voting
Schools with Choice
Voting
These
lists are not complete however, so please notify us at [email protected]
if you know of any schools not on our list that use fair elections
voting methods. We have also collected a series of news
articles
related to fair elections in student
government.
In
addition to providing resources to students interested in fair elections at
their schools, The Center for Voting and Democracy also has
experience with the administration of
elections at schools and for private companies and
organizations.
