While the nation's pundit-class waits in suspense to see the final
outcome in the final three U.S. Senate races, the so-called "spoiler"
problem is rearing its ugly head again. In all three races, independent
and third-party candidates earned enough support to deny the final
winners a majority of the vote. But this November, Memphis (TN)
addressed this problem by overwhelmingly passing instant runoff voting
(IRV) by 70% for city races. Telluride also approved IRV handily and will be heading towards implementation.Meanwhile, Pierce County (WA) and San Francisco (CA) held successful elections using IRV. In Pierce County, the reform is already changing political dynamics, with newspapers endorsing first choice and second choice candidates, and parties running more than one candidate for office without fear of dividing their vote.
[Website for the successful Memphis IRV Campaign]
[San Francisco election results]
[Pierce County Election results]
In the wake of the historic 2008 elections, FairVote has released an insightful new report, 10 Surprising Stories About Election 08, that goes beyond the horserace coverage and discusses angles missed by the news media. The report covers topics ranging from new wins for FairVote-backed reforms to spoiler problems in various races -- as well as the persistent problems of a shrinking number of battleground states and the stagnant state of representation for women and communities of color in Congress. 