MONTPELIER -- By a slim margin Wednesday, the Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would have Vermonters deciding congressional elections by instant runoff voting, the method Burlington used in last year's mayoral vote.

Supporters of the method hailed the 15-13 vote. "This definitely gives it a big boost," said Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. "Despite the closeness of the vote, this is a giant step."

Opponents criticized instant runoff voting as confusing, expensive and unnecessary. "It's a problem that doesn't exist that's going to cost us money to fix, and there's not a lot of support around the state," said Sen. George Coppenrath, R-Caledonia.

The legislation calls for using instant runoff voting starting in 2008 with the state's lone U.S. House seat. Voters would rank the candidates in order of preference. If no candidate won more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, voters' second choice would be factored in. The idea is to ensure that whoever wins has the backing of a majority of voters.

"This is not a newfangled idea," Senate Government Operations Committee Chairwoman Jeanette White, D-Windham, told the Senate in making a pitch for the legislation. Along with Burlington, the system is used in places such as Australia, Ireland and San Francisco, she said.

Vermont would, however, be the first state in the nation to use the method if the legislation is enacted. The likelihood of that is uncertain.

Senators are due to vote on the bill again today before sending it to the House. The legislation might reach the House floor before adjournment next month, but time is short, said House Speaker Gaye Symington, D-Jericho, who was clearly irritated with the Senate for passing the legislation so late in the session.

Gov. Jim Douglas opposes the legislation. While Douglas generally refuses to declare whether he will veto legislation before it goes through the Legislature, spokesman Jason Gibbs said, "He really does not like it. He believes fundamentally in one person, one vote."

For Sen. Hinda Miller, D-Chittenden, Wednesday's vote was personal. She lost last year's Burlington mayoral race in which instant runoff voting was used for the first time in Vermont. "I don't think it really gives an honest evaluation of who people choose first," she said. "This is a game of chance," Miller said.

During the campaign, she said, she and her supporters spent a lot of time strategizing about how instant runoff voting would affect the race. "It becomes a significant part of the campaign -- who should you vote for second? It got very confusing for all of us."

White argued that exit polling done at the Burlington election indicated voters were not confused by the process, and that 63 percent of them liked instant runoff voting.

Contact Terri Hallenbeck at 229-4126 or [email protected].