Instant Runoff Voting: Latest Articles

Political reforms such as redistricting reform and campaign finance reform have foundered at the ballot box in recent years, rejected by voters in several states. But another political reform, instant runoff voting, has quietly racked up impressive victories.

Instant runoff voting (IRV), which allows voters to rank their candidates 1, 2, 3, made great strides forward during the November 7, 2006 elections.

Voters in four different jurisdictions overwhelmingly approved ballot measures for IRV. In California, voters in Oakland approved the idea with… more

Note: Post-election versions of this op-ed also appeared in the Nov. 24 Providence Journal and the Nov. 28 San Jose Mercury News.

Regardless which party controls Congress after Election Day, the new leaders’ agenda should highlight policies designed to improve democracy and elections in the United States.

Change is certainly needed. Our constitutional framers designed the U.S. House of Representatives -- the "people’s house" -- to be the branch of government with the most power… more

The conviction of Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham over serious ethics violations has left a bad taste in many voters' mouths. Now taxpayers are about to waste scarce tax dollars on an election to fill the vacancy.

Because none of the 18 candidates in April's special election received more than 50 percent of the votes cast, North County voters must trudge to the polls a second time for a June 6 runoff election to determine the winner -- who… more

Several recent studies show that the introduction of ranked-choice voting in San Francisco is off to a good start. The shift from December runoffs to RCV has saved millions of taxpayer dollars, and voter participation was much higher and more inclusive than would be expected using the old runoff system. The voters themselves, when polled, overwhelmingly preferred RCV to the old December runoff system.

In RCV, voters rank up to three candidates. If no candidate wins a majority of… more

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is right. California needs a government that's less partisan and better reflects the many voices in its diverse population. The disconnect between the government and the governed threatens the state's ability to solve its problems and plan for the future.

But there are better ways for the governor to solve the redistricting problem than allowing retired judges to redraw the boundaries for political districts, as he proposed in his State of the State speech Wednesday. California's single-seat,… more