An alternative voting systemBy DAN WENTZEL
Published May 21st 2007 in Los Angeles Times
Steven Hill and Lynn Serpe are right on with recommending ranked-choice voting. It's not just San Francisco but other countries, such as Ireland and Australia and increasingly Britain, successfully using it. Not only does it save money by eliminating the need for runoff elections, it captures the complexity of voter opinion. Voters can pick their first-choice candidate and party without fear because the whole concept of a "spoiler" is eliminated in that system.
We should also adopt this model for state and federal elections. Our Legislature could have 40 districts, each electing one senator and four Assembly members in a multi-member district to create a form of proportional representation. Nothing would transform our democracy for the better more than opening up our electoral system to other parties and voices. Initiatives proposing this fairer type of voting are a true grass-roots effort to create a better democracy for Los Angeles and all of California.
DAN WENTZEL Santa Monica
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.