Lowering the cost of votingBy Diane Hbino and Fred L. Olson
Published March 4th 2009 in Gazette
The League of Women Voters commends Erik Connell of FairVote for his accurate appraisal of issues involved in filling a vacancy for the District 4 seat on the County Council and his proposal of using instant runoff voting (IRV) as a solution ("More economical solution to costly special election," Feb. 25 commentary).
The Montgomery County League conducted a two-year study on alternative election methods and agrees that a single IRV election — where a candidate is required to receive a majority of votes cast in order to win — is preferable for its timeliness, lower costs and broader candidate support over conducting party primaries and a general election. We know that implementing the option is not feasible now. However, we urge the council to consider replacing the primaries and general election with a single IRV election for future mid-term vacancies.
We encourage District 4 residents to take an active role by voting to decide who will represent them on the council. The new member will be making important decisions affecting the county in the critical months ahead. Look for our Voters' Guide of the candidates' views on community issues in early April at www.lwvmd.org/mont.
Diane Hbino, Rockville
The writer is president of the Montgomery County League of Women Voters.
In addition to instant runoff voting (IRV) we need to have voting by mail, which will be much less costly than voting in local precincts in one day.
We need to have a much higher voter participation in special elections to measure the will of the general public. An IRV mail procedure would provide a low-cost effective special election that we could boast about to the rest of the public.
Fred L. Olson, Silver Spring
The writer is an election judge at Leisure World.
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.