Howard Dean Continues to Support IRV
Dean Discusses IRV on Vermont Radio's Mark Johnson Show
Howard DeanOn March 16th, Former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean continued his support for instant runoff voting on Vermont Radio's Mark Johnson Show. Commenting on Burlington's recent IRV election, Dean said "I think the best and most democratic way to use to elect people in multiparty elections is instant runoff voting." Dean also supported the system when it was first used in Burlington in 2006.

Dean is part of a growing list of prominent politicians who have shown support for the system, including President Barack Obama, United States Senators John McCain and Bernie Sanders, U.S. Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and Peter Welch, and former U.S. Congressman John Porter.

Links


Burlington's Second IRV Election a Success
Incumbent Kiss Wins Reelection in Third IRV Round
Burlington City HallCitizens of Burlington, Vermont went to the polls on Tuesday, March 3rd to vote for the second time in an election using instant runoff voting. At 8:25 PM, the city declared that incumbent Mayor Bob Kiss had won reelection in the third and final round of counting, narrowly edging out challenger Kurt Wright, 51.5% to 48.5%. The race was unique in that it had four candidates that had a legitimate shot at winning: Progressive Kiss, Republican Wright, Democrat Andy Montroll, and independent Dan Smith. In most other American cities, there would be fear of "spoiler" candidates, but IRV allowed all four candidates to run without having to worry about being labeled "spoilers."

IRV is also credited for making the race one of the more civil that Burlington has seen, as candidates were hesitant to attack one another for fear of losing their opponents' second choice support.  Democratic City Councilman Bill Keogh was quoted as saying the race was "the most respectful and informative campaign in Burlington in a long time."

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Governors Split on Advancing Our Elections
IL governor signs National Popular Vote, VT governor vetoes majority voting
On April 4, Vermont governor Jim Douglas chose to veto legislation to re-establish majority elections for Congress in his state through instant runoff voting. Vermont would have been the first state to enact IRV for Congress; legislative leaders affirmed their commitment to the bill, and it is sure to move in the state again. FairVote has worked hard to support this legislation, which likely generated more than 600 phone calls to the governor from Vermonters.

On April 7, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation entering Illinois into the National Popular Vote plan for president. The NPV plan now has states making up more than a sixth of what it will take for the plan to go into affect. It also has passed fully a sixth of our nation's state legislative chambers, including most recently in Maine, Vermont and Hawaii.

[AP/Boston Globe Article on the Veto]
[Vermont Public Radio on the Veto]
[Brattleboro Reformer Editorial]
[More on IRV in Vermont]
[www.InstantRunoff.com]
[National Popular Vote Plan]
[FairVote's Presidential Elections Page]
[Hendrik Hertzberg rips Gov. Douglas in his blog ]



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Former Gov. Dean Supports IRV
Published March 7th 2006 in WCAX TV News

Former Vermont Governor and Presidential candidate Howard Dean showed up at the polls Tuesday morning to vote, and to express his support of Instant Runoff Voting.

"So I think Instant Runoff Voting is really good. I'm delighted to be one of the relatively early cities that are using this, and I wanted to make a point that I think this is something that would be really good for the country," said Dean.

City officials are hoping to have the results of the mayoral election completed by 8 o'clock.

Campaign Resources from the Successful IRV Campaign in Burlington, VT
[Advertisement placed in newspapers by local IRV Advocates]