Majority rule and genuine voter choice are marks of a functioning democracy. To support voter choice in high turnout elections, we act to encourage understanding, adoption and effective implementation of instant runoff voting, a ranked choice voting system used in a growing number of American elections.
Advances for Ranked Choice Voting Coast to Coast
Win for IRV in NC and progress in NY, OH, CA, TN and more
In North Carolina, the state legislature on July 18 sent to the governor legislation to extend the current pilot program for IRV in localities in the wake of highly successful IRV elections in 2007 and an endorsement from the League of Women Voters of NC. In Memphis (TN), a charter commission has placed IRV on the November ballot, one among several upcoming IRV measures around the nation. In Long Beach (CA), the Long Beach Press Telegram endorsed the city election director's proposal for IRV.  This fall's five leading candidates for president all have been active supporters of IRV, while the student-run Roosevelt Institution's new25 Ideas for Electoral Reform features two proposals for instant runoff voting.

The Cincinnati NAACP is promoting a 2008 ballot measure to enact the choice voting method of proportional voting for city council elections, while lawyers for the Brennan Center for Justice this month will present FairVote’s amicus briefs arguing for choice voting in a federal voting rights case in Port Chester (NY).

[NC Votes 1-2-3, a strong coalition of organizations and individuals supporting IRV in North Carolina]
[Long Beach Press Telegram editorial endorsing IRV for Long Beach, CA]
[Roosevelt Institution]
[Cincinnati NAACP]
[Brennan Center for Justice]
[FairVote's amicus brief from the Port Chester (NY) voting rights case]
[See FairVote Executive Director Rob Richie's blog for more on this progress]



Instant Runoff Voting Boosts the Vote on Campuses nationwide.
Instant runoff voting (IRV) has been gaining momentum among universities as the preferred mechanism for student elections.
The Spring 2008 student election season brought another successful round of IRV and Choice Voting elections. FairVote estimates that at least 30,600 students voted in IRV and Choice Voting elections for student government in nine Colleges. Already used by more than half of the nation's top thirty universities (based on rankings by U.S. News and World Report), the IRV has been recently adopted by students at UCLA, North Carolina State University, Santa Fe College (FL) and the University of Iowa, where IRV was used for the first time this year with the highest turnout student election ever.
 
Implementing IRV and other innovative voting methods like Choice Voting boosts student participation in their elections. Among several examples, California State University at Chico has shown impressive gains in voter turnout since the voting system adoption. Voter turnout at CSU Chico increased by more than 2,000 students from 2,601 pre-IRV to 4,717 in recent post-IRV elections.
 
Rob Richie, executive director of FairVote, applauds students’ openness to innovation and improving elections: “The last decade has opened many Americans’ eyes to the need to upgrade our elections. Electing majority winners in a single round of voting is a great example. The fact that so many students have taken this step points to our expectation that it will become the norm many our top elections.”
[Read the New FairVote Press Release on Student Elections Using IRV]
[See which Colleges are Using IRV with information on Election Results and Bylaws Language]
[Read Students’ Testimonies]
[See Detailed Choice Voting Election Results at UC Davis Dated Spring 2008]
[Read NC State Technician Online’s Breakdown on How IRV Works]
[Become an IRV Advocate at your University]



Victories in Rhode Island, Colorado and Illinois
Key progress on IRV, NPV and 16-year-old registration
It was a good week for FairVote in the states. On May 27, Colorado governor Bill Ritter signed HB 1378, a bill to allow all Colorado municipalities and special districts to use instant runoff voting and choice voting; FairVote's Rob Richie testied for two hours to the task force that recommended the bill last year. In Illinois, the legislature sent to the governor SF 439, a bill to allow municipalities to use IRV ballots to improve voting rights for overseas voters like those serving in the military.

In Rhode Island the State Senate took two critical steps forward on the reform agenda of our FairVote Rhode Island group. It overwhelmingly passed advance voter registration and the National Popular Vote plan. Former US Senator Lincoln Chafee was a key backer of the NPV bill, which has now passed in 18 of our nation's 99 legislative chambers, while FairVote RI has brought together a broad coalition of civic groups to back advance voter registration. The House already passed advance registration, and a bill should go to the governor this year.

[FairVote Rhode Island]
[Colorado Voter Choice Task Force Report]
[Rob Richie's blog on RI wins] 
[Include Every Voter on IRV ballots for overseas voters]


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Recent Articles
October 30th 2009
Don Fraser and George Latimer: The case for instant-runoff voting is clear
Star Tribune

Two former politicians tell St. Paul voters that IRV is "vitally important to us as citizens and as members of our communities."

October 29th 2009
Plurality voting rule is the real election spoiler
Baltimore Sun

In the midst of 3-way races in NJ and NY, FairVote board member and 1980 presidential candidate John Anderson makes the case for IRV over our flawed plurality system.

October 25th 2009
CHARTER AMENDMENT 3: County voters would lose power
The News Tribune

Amendment 3 to the Pierce county charter is an attempt by incumbent politicians to rig the system and prevent any serious challengers from competing. IRV is simply too fair and too democratic to not keep using in our electoral system.

October 22nd 2009
St. Paul should join IRV bandwagon
Star Tribune

Star Tribune stands behind IRV voting. They believe that if this system is used in St. Paul, it will show the state of Missouri that IRV can work and can better represent the voters in the state.