What in the world is Instant Runoff Voting? And why did the charter review committee come up with such an off the wall proposal?"

Amendment , on the Nov. 2 ballot for Vancouverites asks whether or not the city should decide on a different method of voting.

Some conservative Vancouver citizens must be thinking "What kind of a pinko, liberal conspiracy is this instant runoff voting anyway? It must be a plan by those people to steer city government to the left."

You can bet if some conservatives think this, then some liberals are thinking, "Just as I thought, stacking elections to favor the conservative types in city hall who cater to business interests."

Actually, nothing can be further from the truth; under instant runoff voting no group would have an advantage. In fact it is not such an off the wall proposal as it is being used elsewhere.

The biggest challenge for the supporters of instant runoff voting is dispelling an if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it attitude and then engendering some interest and emotion for the issue.

Emotional issues always bring out people in droves. Just try to cut down a few trees, and tree huggers come out of the woodwork. Propose to build a megastore or an amphitheater in someone's neighborhood, and see the emotion. This new voting method has not brought forth this type of response. The only threat is that it would improve our voting procedures.

The pro-instant runoff voting committee has made an analysis of the proposal, and it would behoove voters to study the issue carefully. The fact that the method will save money, as it calls for only one election rather than two, is a valid point -- if you want to save money. But what about those 1960 era punch card voting machines? Will they have to be updated with more modern computerized scanners to read the new type of city election ballot? Heaven knows we could use some additional efficiency during elections. Remember the "ballots too long" fiasco in the primary election? New ballots and voting procedures will need to be developed by the County Auditor.

Under instant runoff voting, if there are more than two candidates for the same office in a city election, voters would rank the candidates on the ballot. If one candidate gets a majority of first choice votes, she or he is elected. If no one gets a majority, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes is dropped and those votes are transferred to the voter's next choice. The votes are recounted and the process continues until one candidate gets a majority. Second, third, and fourth rankings would decide the election.

The pro committee has documented that a minority of voters in the recent primary election selected the final two candidates for Vancouver City Council Position 5, and that the outcome could have been different if voters had ranked the four candidates. Under instant runoff voting the will of the majority would be reflected more accurately.

With instant runoff voting it will be necessary to know the candidates, so intelligent and informed choices can be made. No longer will the voter be able to pick just one candidate. Voters will need to study all of the candidates, as the qualifications of each must be considered: where do we get the information?

Those candidates with money will mail out brochures, those who are articulate will shine during voter forums, and those who excel in interviews will impress The Columbian editorial staff.

What if The Columbian gave each candidate 500 words or so to detail their qualifications and platform? What about a web site sponsored by a non-partisan group for each candidate? The more information about a candidate the voter has, the more informed the choice.

Candidates will not have to raise as much money to run an instant runoff voting campaign. There will be one election campaign to finance, not both the primary and general elections. Each candidate will be in the general election regardless of the amount of money raised and spent.

The proposal takes some study and thought. Amendment 1 does not mandate Instant Runoff Voting, but authorizes the City Council, by public action, 30 days prior to the filing to approve its use. Any improvement in election procedures will benefit democracy.

I shall join many others and support Amendment 1.

Hugh Shuford, Vancouver Columbian guest columnist