Aspen's ready for Instant Runoff VotingAn Aspen Times Editorial
It's been less than three months since Aspen's June runoff election, but already memories are fading. So, to briefly recap, Mick Ireland bested Tim Semrau for mayor, and Steve Skadron won over Toni Kronberg for an open council seat. In both races, the June results mirrored the tallies from the first election in May. As in several prior elections - 2001, 2003 and 2005 - the runoff contests served only to confirm the results from the original election. Moreover, voter participation dropped and everyone - candidates included - was sick and tired of the whole affair by the end.
Instant Runoff Voting, or IRV, offers an alternative. Simply put, Aspen voters would no longer be asked to cast votes twice on the same race. Using multiple counts of the same ballots, election clerks could determine the first- and second-highest vote-getters without the cost and hassle of a second election.
City council members are considering now whether to place an instant runoff question on the November ballot, but Monday night they hesitated because of the confusing details of the actual ballot-counting procedure. Council members' reluctance is understandable, but we don't see any advantage to waiting.
The decision before the council now is not which exact counting method to choose; it is merely whether to place language on the November ballot. The exact instant-runoff method can be pinned down later.
We believe Aspenites want an IRV system to replace the cumbersome and costly way we've done it for the past six years. They should be allowed to decide this matter while the 2007 election is fresh in their minds.
The details of the new system - like the details of pothole repair, tax collection, parking enforcement and other city functions - can be left to city officials. That's what we elect them to do.
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.