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in the past, many folks in this forum have supported the notion of "instant
runoff voting" as a means of giving voters the choice of FIRST voting their
ideals and then transfering their vote to a second choice if their candidate
does not get enough support and no candidate has the majority. If I am correct,
Greens have advocated for this kind of voting - for very good reasons.
The purpose of instant run-off voting is largely to accomplish what already
happens in an open primary such as we just had is St Paul. The advantage of
Instant Run-off is that you get the benefits of an open primary, but you only
have to go to the polls once.
What is happening in St Paul right now is something like Instant Runoff Voting,
but without the instant.
I don't have the numbers in front of me, but if this had been an "instant
run-off" situation, wouldn't Coleman already be mayor (having gotten a majority
of votes in the first round).
In the primary everyone got to vote for the candidate of their first choice.
Now, the candidate with the least support has been removed and her voters have
the option of moving their votes to their second choice OR sitting out the rest
of the process.
I fully understand that some folks are unhappy, even disgruntled, about the
remaining choices. What I would like to hear from those who are advocating a
"write-in" vote, and appear to be unhappy with the process, is where they
believe the process broke down.
How would they have run the election differently to make it more democratic?
I assume that we all agree that the goal of the process is to reach a
"democratic" outcome and not necessarily a "progressive" outcome.
Or.......
NOTE: clearly the role of money in elections is one area to look at and the low
turn-out in the primary is different from what you would get in ONE instant
run-off election. But, I think that the above points are worth discussing.
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Sent From Tim's Blackberry
Phone: 651-246-5045
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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