Voting geeks be warnedInstant-runoff voting was a big winner on Election Day, while fusion voting failed at the polls
By Louis Jacobson
Published November 16th 2006 in Roll Call
Instant-runoff voting went four-for-four on local ballots, winning in Oakland, Davis, Calif., Minneapolis and Pierce County, Wash. That makes eight wins and no losses for such proposals beginning with the concept�s March 2002 victory in San Francisco, said Rob Richie, executive director of the pro-IRV group FairVote.
Under IRV, voters rank their favorite candidates in order of preference. The first-choice votes for losing candidates are reassigned to the voter�s next-highest choice until one candidate secures 50 percent.
By contrast, fusion voting failed its first big statewide initiative test in Massachusetts by a 2-1 margin. Under a fusion voting system, candidates are allowed to secure a ballot line from one or more parties. Votes for a candidate on any party line count toward their total in the election, but votes cast on a smaller party�s line allow voters to send a message about issues they care about. Such votes also provide the smaller party with political leverage.
In the meantime, a measure to restore voting rights to residents on parole and probation passed narrowly in Rhode Island. According to the public policy center Demos, 16 states have moved to restore ex-felon voting rights since 1997.
Finally, a quirky idea for boosting voter turnout � awarding a randomly chosen Arizona voter a $1 million payout � failed by a 2-1 margin.
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.