Guest MINDSETTER™ Tony Jones: The Case for Instant-Runoff Voting
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Instant-runoff voting (or IRV) is a voting system used for single winner elections in which voters can rank candidates in order of their preference.
With IRV no longer is the voter asked to select one the "lesser of two evils" or in the case of the major party, often times low-turnout, primaries we would be left with a candidate that best represents the choice of the people.
Instant-runoff voting would invigorate the election process, as it would afford the voter the chance to vote by picking the candidate they honestly feel would be the best person for the job and not get caught up in worrying about a wasted vote or who they think is actual going to be the winner. This would be a great way to get people back into the political process.
Instant runoff voting is much fairer than the current "vote for one" system. It would surely shake-up Rhode Island’s political landscape.
Comments:
Jeffrey deckman
8:08am on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
First of all the law doesn't call for a 51% majority to win an election so what's the point?
Second of all you are assuming most people would know the candidates intimately enough to even have a first, second or third choice in mind.
In most cases in a 3 way race or more the # 2 or 3 candidate would simply be anyone who wasn't the opponent if their favorite.
Nice academic theory but has no application in RI.
If you want to spend time working on something of value take on the project of getting rid of the master lever voting. At least that is relevant.
george pratt
9:20am on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Mr. Deckman,
Your mistaken. If people knew that a vote for Ken Block wasn't going to be wasted, more people may have voted for him. The major parties don't want this because it will allow the rise of a third party. While were at it, can we get rid of the electoral college. We should all be tired of presidential candidates focusing their campaigns on 10 or 11 states. Right now as a conservative living in RI my vote means nothing. A popular vote means the politicians have to pay attention to all of us. Would Ohio's unemployment rate have dropped below ours if it wasn't a swing state?
Douglas Jones
9:53am on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
In practice too many voters in this state never would comprehend how IRV works. It can work well in a city like Cambridge. The amount of time it would take to educate to residents of this state how to cast their votes and the principle behind it would render the change entirely impracticle for Rhode Island. Not a pretty assumption, but you all know it to be true.
anthony sionni
11:42am on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
I think we should just have run off elections if a person doesn't get 51 percent and then the top 2 candidates would have a run off,we shouldn't be electing people like chafee and cicilline with 36 and 37 percent of the vote.
Captain Blacksocks
3:20pm on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Agree with Anthony. If a three way race does not result in one winner with 51% of the vote, then you drop the third place finisher and have a run-off election between the #1 and #2 finisher to assure that any elected official takes office with 51% of the vote. It would just take one law change. I can't think of a good reason why and party would oppose that. Who would want to govern with only 36% of the vote?