By Jim Cousins
Published July 1st 2006 in StarTribune.com
Your June 25 article on the Independence Party (IP) convention reported
that the convention took only three hours, but neglected to mention why.
One reason the IP was able to conclude its business more efficiently than DFL or Republican conventions is that the IP used an updated voting system called Instant Runoff Voting. By also including second- and third-choice preferences on the ballots, the convention achieved a clear majority of support for the endorsed candidate, without numerous ballots that often send conventions into the late hours of the night.
For delegates of other parties who would rather not spend countless hours inside on a summer night voting and re-voting to achieve a majority, encourage your political party (or other organizations) to use Instant Runoff Voting and get a majority supported outcome in one ballot.
JIM COUSINS, EDINA; CHAIR, FAIRVOTE MN
One reason the IP was able to conclude its business more efficiently than DFL or Republican conventions is that the IP used an updated voting system called Instant Runoff Voting. By also including second- and third-choice preferences on the ballots, the convention achieved a clear majority of support for the endorsed candidate, without numerous ballots that often send conventions into the late hours of the night.
For delegates of other parties who would rather not spend countless hours inside on a summer night voting and re-voting to achieve a majority, encourage your political party (or other organizations) to use Instant Runoff Voting and get a majority supported outcome in one ballot.
JIM COUSINS, EDINA; CHAIR, FAIRVOTE MN
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.