By Stuart Dixon
Published November 18th 2005 in The Daily Avertiser
With the recognition of the rights of evacuated Louisiana voters, can we put their rights on the same par as our military and overseas residents?
The special absentee ballots allow voters to rank their choices for the general election so that both the primary and general election absentee ballots can be filled out and sent in at the same time.
That is an abbreviated form of instant runoff voting the legislature adopted for the military voters some years back. IRV would save Louisiana between $1 million and $2 million a year in local special elections around the state.
High school student governments that adopt IRV ensure that winners emerge by majority in one election. The friends of candidates will rank all of their choices and not have to bluff anyone that they voted for him or her.
I am a Metairie evacuee based in Tennessee.
Stuart Dixon
Memphis, Tenn
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.