Ranked-choice voting

By Ruth Lee
Published July 31st 2008 in Kansas City Star

I agree that apathy is a major reason people don’t vote (7/27, A-1). One way to change this is through a new method of voting that has been adopted in other U.S. cities such as San Francisco and Minneapolis. In this system, voters rank their choices in order of preference: first, second, third and so on.

This method of voting can increase voter turnout because every vote counts, even if the voter’s first-choice candidate is defeated. It also prevents the need for runoff elections like those held for Kansas City council and mayoral elections. This could save Kansas City huge sums of money.

There is a group working to bring ranked- choice voting to Kansas City. For more information, please see www.rankmyvotekc.org

Ruth Lee
Kansas City
IRV Soars in Twin Cities, FairVote Corrects the Pundits on Meaning of Election Night '09
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.

And as pundits try to make hay out of the national implications of Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections, Rob Richie in the Huffington Post concludes that the gubernatorial elections have little bearing on federal elections.

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