Re: "Pa. court keeps Nader off ballot," Aug. 30:
By John A. O'Brien
Published September 2nd 2004 in Philadelphia Inquirer
I agree with the result but deplore the undemocratic statute that led
to it.
My agreement stems only from the fact that a vote for Ralph Nader is
tantamount to a vote for Bush.
If the two major parties agree on one thing, it is that they and only
they should be able to nominate candidates with a chance of election.
It does not have to be so. Pennsylvania and all other states should
adopt instant runoff voting, which lets voters rank candidates in
order of preference. Under that system, if no candidate wins a
majority vote, the one with the lowest first-choice total is
eliminated, and the vote is recounted immediately, using the second
choices of his or her voters and the process is repeated until
someone has a majority.
The voter could select an independent candidate without fear that the
vote would effectively count for a candidate he or she diametrically
opposes. More voices would be heard and the major parties would
listen more closely to the voice of the people.
John A. O'Brien
Lafayette Hill
to it.
My agreement stems only from the fact that a vote for Ralph Nader is
tantamount to a vote for Bush.
If the two major parties agree on one thing, it is that they and only
they should be able to nominate candidates with a chance of election.
It does not have to be so. Pennsylvania and all other states should
adopt instant runoff voting, which lets voters rank candidates in
order of preference. Under that system, if no candidate wins a
majority vote, the one with the lowest first-choice total is
eliminated, and the vote is recounted immediately, using the second
choices of his or her voters and the process is repeated until
someone has a majority.
The voter could select an independent candidate without fear that the
vote would effectively count for a candidate he or she diametrically
opposes. More voices would be heard and the major parties would
listen more closely to the voice of the people.
John A. O'Brien
Lafayette Hill
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.