America Votes Today. Will You?By Steve Hill
Published November 5th 2002 in New York Times
"Tuesday Night's Script" (editorial, Nov. 3) was astute to point out how much the Democrats and the Republicans conceal their differences from voters. But this electoral gaming is what we should increasingly expect from our "winner take all" electoral system.
This system allows party leaders to oversee the political map like military generals, funneling resources into the close races and ignoring the rest. Then, in those close races that determine who wins control of Congress, both sides use polls and focus groups to figure out which messages will motivate the undecided swing voters.
Consequently, most voters and their issues are sliced right out of the political process, contributing to low voter engagement and turnout.
Oddly, for a national election, a handful of swing voters in a handful of districts determines who wins Congress.
Steven Hill
San Francisco, Nov. 3, 2002
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.