The news that 19 candidates will be on the special election ballot to fill the 32nd District seat vacated by the passing of Julian Dixon makes it clear that people who live there will have no representation until the June runoff election. This crowded field presents a good argument in favor of AB 1515, introduced by Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg. It will provide for instant runoff voting to fill future vacancies. Instant runoff voting allows each voter to enumerate his or her favorite candidates, 1-2-3. If no candidate gets 50%, the candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated and those ballots are assigned to each voter's next choice. This eliminates the "spoiler" phenomenon and assures that the winner will have majority support. Instant runoff voting would save California taxpayers the expense of runoff elections. Given the crowded ballot in the mayoral election and City Council races, perhaps Los Angeles should consider adopting instant runoff voting for municipal elections.
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.

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