INSTANT
RUN-OFF VOTING (IRV)
Instant
runoff voting (IRV) lets voters specify preferences for multiple candidates
running for the same office.
IRV
allows voters to vote for their favorite candidate without fear of helping elect
their least favorite candidate, and it ensures that the winner enjoys true
support from a majority of the voters. It is attractive because it ensures that
the eventual winner will be the choice of a majority of voters, rather than just
a plurality.
For
example, in 2000 if no Presidential candidate won an absolute majority (more
than 50%) in a state the lowest vote getter would be eliminated and that
candidate's voters' second-ranked choices would receive their votes instead.
Under IRV, many of Ralph Nader's votes may have listed Al Gore as their
second choice and in final tabulation if Nader did not have enough votes to win
then his votes would may have wound up going to Gore.
IRV
changes the tone of elections from negative sound-bites to positive messages
aimed beyond one's base, since candidates need to pick up second or third choice
votes in order to win; and because it saves the expense and avoids the lower
turnout associated with delayed runoff elections.
Howard
Dean supports IRV. On June 3rd at the 2005 “Take Back America” Conference
held in Washington D.C., Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean
encouraged the adoption of instant runoff voting (IRV) as a way to assure
majority winners and increase voter turnout.
Said Dean, “I think we ought to have instant runoff voting.
I think that brings people in to the polls.
If there's a third party, fine. They
get a choice. We get majorities
that win, and it brings more people in.”
Presidential
candidate in 1980 and FairVote Board chair John B. Anderson supports IRV. “The
American people want choices at the polls. We need leaders from across the
spectrum to work together to ensure voters have those choices and ensure winners
have majority support.”
The
California Democratic Party adopted a platform recommending IRV.
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How
Instant Runoff Voting Works:
IRV
allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference (i.e. first choice,
second choice, third, fourth and so on). Voters have the option to rank as many
or as few candidates as they wish, but can vote without fear that ranking less
favored candidates will harm the chances of their most preferred candidates.
First choices are then tabulated, and if a candidate receives a majority of
first choices, he or she is elected. If nobody has a clear majority of votes on
the first count, a series of runoffs are simulated, using each voter’s
preferences indicated on the ballot. The candidate who received the fewest first
place choices is eliminated. All ballots are then retabulated, with each ballot
counting as one vote for each voter's highest ranked candidate who has not been
eliminated. Specifically, voters who chose the now-eliminated candidate will now
have their ballots counted for their second choice candidate -- just as if they
were voting in a traditional two-round runoff election -- but all other voters
get to continue supporting their top candidate. The weakest candidates are
successively eliminated and their voters' ballots are redistributed to next
choices until a candidate crosses a majority of votes.
More
information on instant runoff voting is available at www.fairvote.org.
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