Small "d" Democracy: Instant Runoffs

We've discussed instant runoffs at length in past posts (see, for instance, Impractical Proposals 2004-12-29) because the strategy makes voting more efficient and the outcomes more democratic. Instant Runoff Voting: The road to better elections is a website dedicated to advancing the cause.

According to the site, "voters have approved IRV by significant margins in nearly all municipalities and cities where it has been introduced to voters. IRV legislation is also rapidly gaining support in a number of state legislatures.

IRV is a voting system for single-winner elections that guarantees majority winners in a single round of voting. IRV allows voters to vote their hopes instead of their fears by ranking candidates in order of preference without worrying about spoiler dynamics or wasted votes. IRV also eliminates the need for low-turnout, high-cost runoffs.

The site includes info on how IRV works, where it is used, who endorses it, and how you can get involved in improving elections on the local, state and federal levels.

Linkage: InstantRunoff.com

Clip File: Enjoyed the Health-Care Debate? We'll Keep Chasing Our Tails Until We Start Taking American Democracy Seriously by Joshua Holland (AlterNet 2009-12-01)