Instant Runoff Voting in San Francisco is upheld by a US federal appeals court

From North County Times  |  Appeals court upholds SF's ranked-choice voting  |  Associated Press  |  May 20, 2011

A federal appeals court says San Francisco's "instant run-off" elections are constitutional.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a lower court's ruling that the city's ranked-choice process approved by voters in 2002 offers the electorate a more nuanced process than traditional elections without disenfranchising anyone.

instant runoff voting; noun  chiefly (US)
another term for alternative vote.

"instant runoff voting noun"  Oxford Dictionary of English. Edited by Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2010. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  David Weller.  23 May 2011  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t140.e0994413>

alternative vote; noun 
an electoral system whereby voters rank candidates in order of preference. In the event that one candidate fails to achieve a sufficient majority, the candidate with the fewest number of first-preference rankings is eliminated and these votes redistributed, the process being repeated until one candidate achieves the required majority.

"alternative vote noun"  Oxford Dictionary of English. Edited by Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2010. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  David Weller.  23 May 2011  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t140.e0994381>

• For Instant Runoff Voting news developments, see The Voting News.
• For Instant Runoff Voting advocacy, see FairVote.org.

Coloradoan.com: Fort Collins voters to weigh in on ranked voting

"April 5 [Fort Collins, Colorado] municipal ballot will ask if city should change its long-standing system for conducting City Council elections to the process known as ranked voting, or instant-runoff election."

The entire article, with commenting, is at  http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20110228/NEWS01/102280323/Voters-to-weigh-in-on-ranked-voting

Definition of "ranked voting":

An electoral system whereby voters rank candidates in order of preference. In the event that one candidate fails to achieve a sufficient majority, the candidate with the fewest number of first-preference rankings is eliminated and these votes redistributed, the process being repeated until one candidate achieves the required majority.

"alternative vote noun"  Oxford Dictionary of English. Edited by Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2010. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  David Weller.  2 March 2011   

A hat tip to Voting News blog.

Fed Court to Hear IRV Lawsuit on Thursday

Image via Wikipedia

From New America Foundation

Article Fed Court to Hear IRV Lawsuit on Thursday

Reference New America Foundation's Political Reform Program Friend of the Court (Amicus Curiae) brief

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• What is Amicus Curiae? (brainz.org)

Open up our democracy for more voter choices during election day

This is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights Day. Of course, human rights is a fundamental issue for people around the world every single day. It's a privilege to share with you All Things Reform's concerns in this particular day and age.

Democracy is very important in a nation's electoral process. Here, in the United States, the political system is dominated by only two parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. We must open up our democracy to allow more voices for citizen consideration during the primaries and on general election day.

Presently, for example, the presidential race is basically only between our two major political parties. In a couple of the latest several general elections, third party candidacies have influenced voting outcomes: Independent Ross Perot in 1992 and Green Party nominee Ralph Nader in 2000. The two-party-dominated electoral politics rendered these powerful candidacies weak, yet even they influenced the winner-take-all electoral system's results.

Our electoral system must allow more eligible candidacies from outside the Democratic and Republican parties a prominent place during election season. Effective solutions include general election ballot access in the states, Instant Runoff Voting, voluntary public financing of elections and Proportional Representation.

When the voter during election season contemplates the candidates in the various races, they must not be pressured into considering only the two philosophies of the major parties. More choice is good for the democratic process, for the people and for a vibrant republic.

For further information on electoral reform, please visit FairVote, at http://www.fairvote.org/.

FairVote's electoral reform news

Top news and updates from FairVote, as of September 5th:

Presidential Primary Reform: FairVote-backed American Plan draws support of New York Times [HERE] and NPR interview [HERE] with Rob Richie

Instant Runoff Voting: IRV makes the November ballot in Sarasota (FL), Aspen (CO), and Washington State counties [MORE INFO]

Proportional Representation: Canada's biggest province Ontario to vote on adoption of "mixed member" proportional voting on October 10. Please donate: [MORE INFO]

National Popular Vote: NPV plan may head to California ballot as a contrast with the undemocratic "congressional district" system -- see FairVote's critique of the district plan [READ MORE] and see Rob Richie's piece in the Austin American-Statesman [HERE].

Research: FairVote releases new congressional election analyses: Dubious Democracy 2007 [HERE] and Monopoly Politics [HERE].

Press: FairVote has a new feature: its weekly Innovative Analysis series, featuring revealing statistics and insightful commentary [HERE].

FairVote 15 year Anniversary

FairVote is celebrating 15 years of "The Way Democracy Will Be". Based in Washington, D.C., FairVote promotes electoral reforms nationally and across the country; reforms include IRV (Instant Runoff Voting), Proportional Representation, Presidential Primary Reform, and NPV (National Popular Vote.) Here is their message and invitation to supporters on their upcoming celebration:

Three Exciting Opportunities
Help sustain our 15 years of reform advocacy.
To commemorate our 15 years of advancing bold reforms like proportional voting, instant runoff voting, a constitutionally protected right to vote, and fair presidential elections where every vote counts, FairVote is highlighting three exciting opportunities for our supporters. Read below about how you can get involved. There's never been a greater time to help build the pro-democracy movement than today, and with a presidential election looming, FairVote is needed now more than ever.

1. Save The Date: Claiming Democracy 2007 & 15th Anniversary Gala
Excitement is growing about FairVote’s upcoming Claiming Democracy conference on strengthening a pro-democracy movement, to take place in Washington, D.C. on November 9th to 11th. Fellow conference sponsors include election reform and media reform organizations like Demos, Free Press, New America Foundation, Public Campaign, and the Brennan Center. Details at ClaimDemocracy.com
On November 10th we will also hold our 15th anniversary banquet in D.C.’s majestic Union Station. This will be a special affair with leaders from FairVote’s history and high-profile supporters in attendance, such as former independent presidential candidate and FairVote chairman John Anderson, as well as appearances by New Yorker editor Hendrik Hertzberg, Daily Show correspondent Dan Bakkedahl, and Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic. An evening of fine dining and great entertainment awaits all who attend, along with the winning videos from our Upgrade Democracy Video Contest! Stay tuned for more details at fairvote.org/gala – and please save the dates for these two exciting events!

2. Make a Video: Upgrade Democracy Video Contest
There’s still plenty of time to flex your creativity and submit your entry into FairVote’s first-ever Upgrade Democracy Video Contest! Tell us what you think ought to be done to improve elections by making a short video answering the question:
“If you could change anything you wanted about elections, what would our democracy look like?”
You could win $2000 and have your video seen by celebrity judges including filmmaker Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Dazed and Confused), political guru Donna Brazile, The Daily Show’s Dan Bakkedahl, MoveOn’s Eli Pariser, Nirvana bassist Krist Noveselic, and New Yorker editor Hendrik Hertzberg! The winners will be honored at FairVote’s 15th Anniversary Gala at the Claim Democracy conference.
To learn more about how to enter, visit http://www.upgradedemocracy.com/. The deadline is September 28, 2007, so spread the word and get filming!

3. Donate Items, Make a Pledge: 15th Anniversary Auction & Pledge Drive
Timed to coincide with our 15th anniversary celebrations this November, FairVote is holding an online charity auction to raise funds for our work. We hope that some of our loyal supporters, and maybe even some new ones, will make in-kind contributions of items and services for us to auction. Do you have a vacation home or timeshare to donate, or perhaps some rare or autographed items? Please pull them out of your attic and put them to work for democracy!
Pledges for FairVote: FairVote of course needs your 2007 donations to sustain our progress toward 'the way democracy will be,' but also seeks commitments of support for the coming five years -- a critically important opportunity to win reform at all levels of government. Please consider commitments in the form of gifts of stock, pledges of annual support and bequests in your will. Contact Ross Margulies at Ross [at] fairvote.org for more information, or to donate an item to our auction.

IRV Instant Runoff Voting is today's solution of representation

If you've ever been in a neighborhood restaurant at 6:30 in the morning, you would have probably met several men sharing coffee and a table; this is a ritual that usually includes the discussion of politics, in addition to the weather, local football, etc. And often when talking politics, there is a consensus about the poor quality of our representatives in Washington, DC.

Of course they aren't entirely serious, and they may be male-bonding a bit, but this is the conventional wisdom with today's presidential candidates in both major parties; we are disgruntled that big money raising events have lifted a few of our candidates to the "top tier", and that that has already lifted to the top of the polls those who will likely win their respective parties' nominations next year.

There are solutions available to voters for this dilemma, however. FairVote is a national organization that promotes electoral reforms, including IRV (Instant Runoff Voting). With IRV, you can rank all of the candidates on the ballot based on your preference-- this eliminates the time and money for runoff elections, but, more importantly, breaks the "winner-take-all" system in place today. There is a growing recognition in all levels of government to the value of this alternative to today's nasty and vitriolic campaigns among all candidates.

FairVote also promotes "proportional representation", "universal voter registration" and other improvements in the quality of America's electoral system. IRV is today's hottest reform, allowing we the people a closer and more honest representation from our future elected officials.

Let's include all proven, honest and serious candidates in presidential debates

A "caught on tape" moment is now circulating the web-- it's Hillary Clinton and John Edwards scheming to limit future Democratic presidential debates to only the "top tier" candidates. For fundraising purposes, I guess that would mean Clinton, Obama and Edwards! Remember, we are in the Summer of an off year-- the primaries for determining the Democratic winner is next year!

The Moderate Voice blog made an insight that is truly the battleground in electoral politics-- the "establishment/ special interest" candidates against all proven, honest and serious candidates. Politics will steer power where the money is; until we have publicly-financed campaigns and Instant Runoff Voting, our elections will be steered in the wrong direction!