By Todd Davis
Published January 22nd 2004 in Mirror
Record low voter turnout, negative "slash-and-burn" campaigning, voter apathy and "spoiler" candidates have become common turn-offs among both voters and potential political candidates.
The cure may be in three letters: IRV. Proponents of Instant Runoff Voting say it can cure the ill effects of modern elections.
IRV ensures winning candidates receive at least 50 percent of the vote.
In the current system, the candidate with the highest number of votes wins the election -- even if he or she gets only, say, 25 percent of the vote.
Under IRV, if there is no majority winner the election is re-tabulated using voters' second-choice, third-choice, etc. candidates.
That's possible because IRV asks voters to rank candidates. Voters do not have to rank all the candidates. The losing candidate in each recount is eliminated until the winner is declared.
Supporters say IRV has the potential to change the political landscape and the process of campaigning.
"Conservative and liberal candidates alike support it depending on who's the 'spoiler' candidate," said Tom Ness, a member of Ferndale for Instant Runoff Voting (FIRV). "It makes the spoiler as a legitimate candidate."
Because all candidates have the opportunity to be counted in subsequent rounds, the possibility of a spoiler ruining an election is diminished.
Ness believes that will get more people to run for office, as well as clean up negative campaigning.
Instead of the winner-take-all mentality where candidates can predict their core group of supporters and strive for the undecided votes, candidates will have to widen their appeal lest they find themselves a second-choice or third-choice candidate in a runoff.
"People will have to run more positive campaigns and appeal to the second- and third-choice voters," Ness said, "not just their narrow constituents."
Also under IRV, in cities like Detroit and San Francisco where a primary election is held in addition to the general mayoral election, the contests could be consolidated into one.
Less elections appears to square well in Michigan. Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently signed a bill to consolidate the number of elections, in part to increase voter participation.
Participate in IRV
The Mirror has teamed with FIRV to conduct an IRV experiment involving readers. Read the IRV ballot and vote for your favorite flavors of ice cream. Cut it out and send it to IRV, Mirror Newspapers, 1523 N. Main, Royal Oak, MI 48067. Ballots may also be dropped off at the office or e-mailed to Executive Editor Steve Stein at [email protected]. Type "IRV" in the subject line.
Please include your hometown, but not your name. We encourage comments. Please don't vote more than once. We also ask that only readers age 18 and older vote.
We'll run the ballot in the next two issues along with more IRV articles. Results will be shared with FIRV and we'll publish them in February.
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.