Group unveils I-318 for instant runoff electionsBy Scott Gutierrez
Published July 11th 2004 in Scott Gutierrez
OLYMPIA -- Another alternative to Washington's election system was unveiled Saturday by activists hoping to encourage more voter participation and ensure that winners truly garner a majority to get elected.
Backers of Initiative 318, which would install instant runoff elections in Washington, will be trying to gather enough signatures by December to present the measure to the state Legislature.
Instant runoff voting sends two candidates to a second round if at least one doesn't grab a 50 percent majority. It allows voters to rank their choices instead of just selecting one person, so that the losing candidates' votes can be dispersed according to how voters ranked their second and third choices.
It's designed to eliminate situations where a candidate wins the election even if he or she receives less than 50 percent of the vote. It would also allow voters to "vote their heart" for third-party candidates without "spoiling" elections, supporters say.
Proponents hope voters and lawmakers will warm to the idea with the controversy surrounding the state's primary election.
"We're proposing this as a solution to the voting dilemma we have now," said Taryn Gearhart, I-318's campaign manager.
On Saturday, about 25 people assembled in Heritage Park to learn about the initiative and to begin organizing volunteers for the petition drive. As part of the event, they ran through a mock election using instant runoff ballots.
I-318 is one of two initiatives that would affect the state's primary election, which was revamped this year by state lawmakers after a federal court struck down Washington's 70-year-old blanket primary as unconstitutional.
As a response to the court's ruling, state lawmakers established a so-called Montana-style system in which voters must select a single party's ballot.
The other initiative, I-872, filed by the Washington State Grange, would offer an election in which the two candidates receiving the most votes would advance from the primary regardless of political affiliation.
It's identical to a measure vetoed by Gov. Gary Locke in favor of the Montana-style system, which allows all parties on the November ballot.
Instant runoff voting, however, would eliminate the need for a primary election because all the candidates would be on the ballot at once. It would save about $13 million and present the most choices during the election with the highest turnout, said Rob Richie, executive director of the Center for Voting and Democracy, a nonprofit organization outside of Washington, D.C.
It would also eliminate the stretch between the primary and general elections in which special-interest support becomes more important to candidates who need money to fund the last leg of the campaign, he said.
The other major benefit is that, in theory, it forces candidates to stick to the issues instead of attacking their opponents during the campaign because if one candidate loses, voters could still pick the other as a second choice, he said.
"You don't want to alienate supporters of the other candidate," Richie said.
Backers of I-318 think neither primary option gives voters the breadth of choices or representation they deserve. Supporters point out that in the last three presidential elections, the winner was elected without a majority of the vote.
The proposal is endorsed by the state's Green, Libertarian and Progressive parties, in addition to other groups such as the U.S. Public Interest Group and Washington State Public Interest Research Group.
If backers gather the 199,000 signatures needed to qualify the measure, it would go to the Legislature, which would have an opportunity to take action before submitting the proposal to a public ballot next year.
"What we're trying to do is engage the Legislature and give them a chance to participate in the process as well," said Jerry Cronk, a Shoreline attorney who was the main author of the initiative.
Cronk and others lobbied lawmakers during the past few years to consider enacting an instant runoff election. The measure was introduced but died in each of the past few years, he said.
State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said he thinks runoff voting is vulnerable to the same "political mischief" as the state's former primary system.
A federal court ruled the popular blanket primary, which allowed voters to cast ballots without declaring a political affiliation, violated political parties' rights to choose their own representatives because party operatives could cross lines to choose their opponents' candidates.
"We favor systems that don't allow Republicans to vote for Democrats and vice-versa. It would open up new possibilities for political mischief in our view, which is what we're trying to get away from," he said.
"The most important thing is to just give this new primary system a chance. Once people get used to it and see the possibilities, they're going to like our new primary system in Washington state," he said.
Cronk and Richie said instant runoff voting is gaining momentum, with at least two dozen states considering such legislation. In addition, San Francisco has become the first U.S. city to adopt instant runoff voting for its municipal elections this year. The system also is used in Ireland and Australia.
And supporters say that vote-counting computer equipment would now be able to handle an instant runoff. The biggest challenges will be educating the public and overcoming the uncertainty that some feel about change.
"When you've been the only game in town for a long time, you don't want to change the rules to help other people," said Joe Szwaja, a Green Party candidate for Congress in 2000 who attended Saturday's event.
Scott Gutierrez writes for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or [email protected].
Backers of Initiative 318, which would install instant runoff elections in Washington, will be trying to gather enough signatures by December to present the measure to the state Legislature.
Instant runoff voting sends two candidates to a second round if at least one doesn't grab a 50 percent majority. It allows voters to rank their choices instead of just selecting one person, so that the losing candidates' votes can be dispersed according to how voters ranked their second and third choices.
It's designed to eliminate situations where a candidate wins the election even if he or she receives less than 50 percent of the vote. It would also allow voters to "vote their heart" for third-party candidates without "spoiling" elections, supporters say.
Proponents hope voters and lawmakers will warm to the idea with the controversy surrounding the state's primary election.
"We're proposing this as a solution to the voting dilemma we have now," said Taryn Gearhart, I-318's campaign manager.
On Saturday, about 25 people assembled in Heritage Park to learn about the initiative and to begin organizing volunteers for the petition drive. As part of the event, they ran through a mock election using instant runoff ballots.
I-318 is one of two initiatives that would affect the state's primary election, which was revamped this year by state lawmakers after a federal court struck down Washington's 70-year-old blanket primary as unconstitutional.
As a response to the court's ruling, state lawmakers established a so-called Montana-style system in which voters must select a single party's ballot.
The other initiative, I-872, filed by the Washington State Grange, would offer an election in which the two candidates receiving the most votes would advance from the primary regardless of political affiliation.
It's identical to a measure vetoed by Gov. Gary Locke in favor of the Montana-style system, which allows all parties on the November ballot.
Instant runoff voting, however, would eliminate the need for a primary election because all the candidates would be on the ballot at once. It would save about $13 million and present the most choices during the election with the highest turnout, said Rob Richie, executive director of the Center for Voting and Democracy, a nonprofit organization outside of Washington, D.C.
It would also eliminate the stretch between the primary and general elections in which special-interest support becomes more important to candidates who need money to fund the last leg of the campaign, he said.
The other major benefit is that, in theory, it forces candidates to stick to the issues instead of attacking their opponents during the campaign because if one candidate loses, voters could still pick the other as a second choice, he said.
"You don't want to alienate supporters of the other candidate," Richie said.
Backers of I-318 think neither primary option gives voters the breadth of choices or representation they deserve. Supporters point out that in the last three presidential elections, the winner was elected without a majority of the vote.
The proposal is endorsed by the state's Green, Libertarian and Progressive parties, in addition to other groups such as the U.S. Public Interest Group and Washington State Public Interest Research Group.
If backers gather the 199,000 signatures needed to qualify the measure, it would go to the Legislature, which would have an opportunity to take action before submitting the proposal to a public ballot next year.
"What we're trying to do is engage the Legislature and give them a chance to participate in the process as well," said Jerry Cronk, a Shoreline attorney who was the main author of the initiative.
Cronk and others lobbied lawmakers during the past few years to consider enacting an instant runoff election. The measure was introduced but died in each of the past few years, he said.
State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said he thinks runoff voting is vulnerable to the same "political mischief" as the state's former primary system.
A federal court ruled the popular blanket primary, which allowed voters to cast ballots without declaring a political affiliation, violated political parties' rights to choose their own representatives because party operatives could cross lines to choose their opponents' candidates.
"We favor systems that don't allow Republicans to vote for Democrats and vice-versa. It would open up new possibilities for political mischief in our view, which is what we're trying to get away from," he said.
"The most important thing is to just give this new primary system a chance. Once people get used to it and see the possibilities, they're going to like our new primary system in Washington state," he said.
Cronk and Richie said instant runoff voting is gaining momentum, with at least two dozen states considering such legislation. In addition, San Francisco has become the first U.S. city to adopt instant runoff voting for its municipal elections this year. The system also is used in Ireland and Australia.
And supporters say that vote-counting computer equipment would now be able to handle an instant runoff. The biggest challenges will be educating the public and overcoming the uncertainty that some feel about change.
"When you've been the only game in town for a long time, you don't want to change the rules to help other people," said Joe Szwaja, a Green Party candidate for Congress in 2000 who attended Saturday's event.
Scott Gutierrez writes for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or [email protected].
