Minor Party Presidential Candidacies Spark Talk of
In a New York Times commentary on July 5, 2000, CVD president John B. Anderson reflected on lessons from his 1980 independent presidential candidacy candidacy and touted the idea of instant runoff voting as a means to banish the concept of "spoilers" from our politics. John Strawn, a long-time member of CVD, wrote a very good letter in the Washington Post that also touts "IRV." The media and political observers currently are focusing on Green Party candidate Ralph Nader's potential impact on the presidential race, with particular attention focused on how his candidacy could "take" votes away from Democrat Al Gore in some key states such as California. But there soon will be more attention focused on likely Reform Party nominee Pat Buchanan's impact on George Bush in some states. Instant runoff voting would reverse all calculations of "spoiling" -- candidates like Buchanan and Nader in fact might help the presidential candidate closest to them in views, as Buchanan and Nader could generate higher turnout among voters who then might rank a major party candidate second. Note that for a better description of the system than permitted in these short commentaries, see the instant runoff voting

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