IRV savings


By Caleb Kleppner
Published November 4th 2003 in San Francisco Examiner

I was glad to read that Warren Hinckle thinks instant runoff voting is a good idea in principle ("Who's on Second?" Oct. 28), but he errs when he suggests the implementation of instant runoff voting will be costly.

In fact, the Department of Elections just requested a $3.5 million supplemental appropriation for the recall, which is a reasonable estimate
of the cost of a citywide election, which we'll be facing in December due to The City's failure to implement instant runoff voting this year.

The City has signed a $1.6 million contract to modify its equipment to implement instant runoff voting, and The City has appropriated $750,000 for voter education. This is a total one-time cost of $2.3 million.

So it looks to me like we save $1.2 million in the first year ($3.5 minus
$2.3 million). In future years, it's all savings, no cost.

As a voter and a taxpayer, I can't wait to use instant runoff voting to elect supervisors next year.

Caleb Kleppner

The City
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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