Dear Supporter
of Fair Elections,
Thanks to support from you and from literally
hundreds of other volunteers and donors,
San Francisco
made
history exactly one year ago, on
March 5, 2002
, when it became the first major
American city to adopt instant runoff voting for all major offices.
It was a great
victory, won over the opposition of downtown leaders who spent more
than $100,000 in their efforts to maintain December runoff
elections. These interests apparently prefer traditional delayed
runoffs that, when compared to same-day instant runoff voting
elections, increase candidates’ reliance on campaign donors,
increase opportunities to attack opponents, decrease voter turnout
and decrease opportunities to build coalitions across racial
lines.
But
the
campaign
is
far
from
over.
We
need
your
renewed
support to head off a
below-the-radar campaign to keep the status
quo.
Yes,
implementation of instant runoff voting (IRV) is very much at risk.
Despite ongoing pressure and assistance from our
San
Francisco staffers Caleb
Kleppner and Steven Hill, opponents have started a whisper campaign
that IRV won’t be in place this fall, leading to several news
articles repeating these doubts – never mind the unambiguous
language in the charter amendment approved by voters. Even more
worrisome, city bureaucrats have completely stalled in establishing
new voting procedures, apparently counting on the fact that the City
will have to postpone this year’s IRV elections if they aren’t ready
to hold them.
Fortunately,
we have many allies, including a majority of the Board of
Supervisors, new California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley and the
City’s leading civic groups. We also know that there is absolutely
no technical reason to avoid implementing IRV.
But
the
clock
is
ticking.
We are
taking several steps to ensure San
Francisco respects the
will of its voters. Tonight, we will pack a meeting of the Election
Commission, with letters from a wide array of civic and political
leaders calling for implementation of IRV. We are preparing for the
possibility that if the City fails to adapt its voting equipment, it
must count IRV ballots by hand, not postpone the elections. We are
working every possible inside connection, yet at the same time are
planning for public protests at City Hall and even a major
lawsuit.
In short, in
the tradition of our campaign to win IRV last year,
we
simply
will refuse
to
lose.
Once we win
the battle assuring a 2003 election with IRV, our job in San
Francisco of course will be far from over. We must keep the pressure
on to ensure instant runoff voting is implemented well. We will
pursue effective community education efforts to help voters
understand IRV, partnering with groups that work with people of
color and language minorities. We will track and assist the City in
every step it takes to run these elections, highlighting and
correcting any decision that could undercut a smooth
election.
The stakes in
this year’s effort are high. The future of the IRV movement may well
depend on a successful IRV election in
San Francisco
because so many cities, counties
and states are watching this election. If things go smoothly, we
expect the reform to spread rapidly in the next few years to cities
around
California
and
states across the nation. But a poorly run election could kill
interest in many areas currently considering IRV.
Ann Arbor,
Michigan
provides one example. Its 1975 mayoral race was the last public
election in the
United States
using IRV. Even though voter
error decreased in half from the previous mayoral race held under
traditional plurality rules and even though the system worked
exactly as planned in ensuring the majority party won despite a
split vote, a poorly run election killed IRV It took the city an
entire week to determine a winner. Controversy swirled around the
election, and IRV was repealed in a low-turnout special election the
following spring.
We must avoid
that fate in San
Francisco, but it
requires work. Since before Proposition A passed in March 2002,
we’ve been working with the Department of Elections and other city
officials on all aspects of implementation, including designing a
comprehensive voter education program. We have held numerous
meetings with community leaders and potential
candidates.
We confront
these great challenges in San
Francisco even as at the
same time we promote fair elections around the country. A dozen
states have introduced IRV legislation this year, and several bills
for IRV and full representation systems have a real chance to pass
at least one house of a legislature. Colleges such as Duke, Vassar,
William and Mary and University of
California –
Davis have adopted
IRV. We
are
an
indispensable
resource
for
backers
of
these
efforts.
Unfortunately,
we face sharp reductions in foundation support. This is a problem
affecting almost all non-profits, but particularly groups promoting
new ideas. Last year for the second year in a row, we doubled our
support from individuals, but lost several major grants. To maintain
our current momentum for fair elections, we need even more support
from individuals in 2003.
In short,
you played a key role in passing Proposition A in
San
Francisco, and we
need your
support once again to make fair elections a reality in the
United
States.
Could
you
make
a
generous
contribution to preserve
last year’s victory for IRV and ensure implementation goes
successfully?
Finally, we are
attaching an action alert to generate calls, faxes and letters to
public officials urging them to sign a contract with the voting
equipment vendor. We hope those of you in San Francisco can take a
few minutes today to contact the
public officials listed.
Sincerely,
Rob Richie,
executive director
P.S. Please
note that two generous donors have joined to provide a $20,000
matching grant that ends on March 31. Every dollar
you give this month will become
two!
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