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Modesto Bee
Instant Runoff Worth
Closer Look
Letter to the Editor
By Marie
Bairey
December 3, 2003
Measure I, the proposal to amend the Modesto City
Charter to move runoff elections to March, failed. This raises the
question of how to structure elections that guarantee the winning
candidates receive a majority (50 percent + 1) of the votes and the
election is completed in a timely manner. In a Nov. 10 commentary,
Lee Miller suggested adopting a one-round automatic runoff
system.
At its 2003 Convention, the League of Women Voters,
California agreed to support a voting method, such as Instant Runoff
Voting, that does not require a separate second election to
determine a winner.
Using instant runoff, voters rank the
candidates; the preferred candidate is first choice and, in case
their favorite is eliminated, their runoff choices are ranked
second, third, etc. If the first count does not yield a majority
winner, the Instant Runoff voting system proceeds.
Such a
system saves the cost of conducting and campaigning in a second
election. Results are available after a single election. It
guarantees that winning candidates are elected by a majority of
voters. Candidates must appeal to a broad base of voters to attract
first or second choice votes.
For more information, check
www.instantrunoff.com.
The League urges the city of Modesto
and the Stanislaus County elections department to investigate
implementing an Instant Runoff Voting system.
MARIE
BAIREY
President, League of Women
Voters
Modesto |
