By Joel M. Koemptgen
Published January 8th 2008 in Duluth News Tribune
Thanks are owed to the News Tribune for publishing the Dec. 29 commentary, “Instant-runoff voting system would save money and trips to the polls.”
I had the opportunity to participate in an information workshop in Duluth in which we voted in a mock election using instant runoff voting. It’s an easy system to learn and has results that are very democratic. Our present system of voting has serious limitations. Primary elections often result in very limited participation. Often, winning candidates are selected by a small number of special-interest voters, something that can lead to the elimination of better-qualified individuals. Though general elections have better turnouts, if there are more than two candidates, the winner can be determined without winning a majority of the votes cast. A prime example of this was the election of Jesse Ventura as governor of Minnesota.
The instant runoff voting system is simple and fair, and it eliminates the time and expense of primaries. I urge elected officials in the city of Duluth and state of Minnesota to become familiar with instant runoff voting.
Joel M. Koemptgen
I had the opportunity to participate in an information workshop in Duluth in which we voted in a mock election using instant runoff voting. It’s an easy system to learn and has results that are very democratic. Our present system of voting has serious limitations. Primary elections often result in very limited participation. Often, winning candidates are selected by a small number of special-interest voters, something that can lead to the elimination of better-qualified individuals. Though general elections have better turnouts, if there are more than two candidates, the winner can be determined without winning a majority of the votes cast. A prime example of this was the election of Jesse Ventura as governor of Minnesota.
The instant runoff voting system is simple and fair, and it eliminates the time and expense of primaries. I urge elected officials in the city of Duluth and state of Minnesota to become familiar with instant runoff voting.
Joel M. Koemptgen
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.