Citizens 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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A county judge in Minnesota has sided on every legal issue with the city
of Minneapolis and defendant intervenor FairVote Minnesota in a challenge
against Minneapolis implementing instant runoff voting and choice voting
for its elections this November. The ruling is a sweeping victory for
advocates of IRV and proportional voting in Minneapolis. With a 65%
mandate from voters in a 2006 measure, the city will move forward on
implementing these systems for November 2009.
The 2008 election included a remarkable feature: all the candidates for president backed instant runoff voting. In its wake, support for "IRV" (also called "ranked choice voting") keeps growing. There have been a terrific series of commentaries and editorials in Minnesota and Georgia, where IRV would have protected majority rule in key Senate races, and insightful new commentaries from New America Foundation staff in the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle. Three impressive new reports from the Brookings Institution, Presbyterian Church and Strengthening Democracy coalition tout instant runoff voting.
