Instant Runoff ballots set in CaryThe town will use a system called Instant Runoff Voting, which asks voters to pick their first choice for an office and also backup choices. Cary voters will be allowed to rank candidates in order of preference -- first, second and third.
The ranking system should prevent the need for runoff elections, which Cary estimates will save the town about $62,000.
The Wake County Board of Elections runs Cary's elections, and the method could spread to other towns if it is successful. Cary is Wake's second-largest city.
Although runoffs are costly, they usually don't draw many voters.
"We've seen some very low turnouts in runoff elections, which means only a tiny portion of the electorate is choosing a final winner," John H. Gilbert, chairman of the Wake election board, said in a statement Friday, as filing for local offices opened.
Cary officials say their town is the first in North Carolina to try the system, although towns and cities across the nation are using it. San Francisco adopted the system in 2004.
Visit www.caryvotes123.com for more information on the method.
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.