OHIO CONGRESSMAN DENNIS J. KUCINICH ENDORSES CAMPAIGN REFORM AND IRV
Our election system is in need of serious reform to expand and enrich democracy. I support measures such as comprehensive campaign finance reform and Clean Money public financing of the public's elections; ample free television time for candidates, coupled with the break-up of the media monopolies that restrict political debate; election day as a holiday; election day voter registration; enhanced voting rights enforcement; an end to the racially-biased disenfranchisement of felons who have served their time; full Congressional representation for residents of the District of Columbia; cross-party endorsement or "fusion"; an inclusive debate process that does not exclude credible 3rd-party candidates; and expansion of elections using full (proportional) representation, which assure more accurate and broader representation than winner-take-all elections.

I also support "Instant Runoff Voting." IRV offers a cost-effective way of insuring that the winning candidate is preferred by a majority of voters; it encourages voters to vote their wishes and not their fears; it promotes greater voter turnout and positive campaigning.

I am running my presidential campaign in line with these reform principles. I don't take corporate PAC money. My campaign is financed largely through small donations, mostly through the Internet -- and propelled by thousands of volunteers. A true grassroots campaign.

Read this story at Kucinich's site

IRV Soars in Twin Cities, FairVote Corrects the Pundits on Meaning of Election Night '09
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.

And as pundits try to make hay out of the national implications of Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections, Rob Richie in the Huffington Post concludes that the gubernatorial elections have little bearing on federal elections.

Links