Reforms Considered To Limit Nastiness In Politics(AP) DENVER Hoping to take some of the sting out of politics, a
legislative task force is studying how to ratchet down the rhetoric and
give minor parties a bigger role in Colorado politics.
State Rep. John Kefalas said recent campaigns have been so bitter they have driven voters away. The Fort Collins Democrat told the task force that voters often end up casting ballots for major-party candidates when they want to vote for unaffiliated or minor-party candidates.
Recommendations on the table include instant runoff voting, where voters pick their first choice for a candidate but also list their second, third and fourth choices.
Under another plan, candidates would get on the ballot by gathering a minimum number of signatures.
State Rep. John Kefalas said recent campaigns have been so bitter they have driven voters away. The Fort Collins Democrat told the task force that voters often end up casting ballots for major-party candidates when they want to vote for unaffiliated or minor-party candidates.
Recommendations on the table include instant runoff voting, where voters pick their first choice for a candidate but also list their second, third and fourth choices.
Under another plan, candidates would get on the ballot by gathering a minimum number of signatures.
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.