[Peace-discuss] How IRV is working in Vermont

[C. G. Estabrook]

[Terry Bouricius is a former city councilor and state legislator from Vermont.]

Terry Bouricius, Fair Vote - Here in Burlington, the second mayoral election 
using instant runoff voting is less than three weeks away. There is a spirited 
campaign with five candidates, four of whom are seen as having a serious chance 
of winning.

The incumbent mayor from the Progressive Party, Bob Kiss, is running for 
re-election. His opponents are the current president of the city council, 
Republican Kurt Wright, Democratic councilor Andy Montroll (a past city council 
president), Dan Smith, an independent whose father was a Republican Member of 
Congress and who is running as a "post-partisan" "entrepreneurial" candidate, 
and a political novice, Green Party candidate James Simpson.

Under the old city charter, Burlington would likely be looking at a runoff 
election a few weeks later (with the desperate flurry of campaign fund-raising, 
mud-slinging, and added tax-payer expense that generally entails). However, with 
the ranked-choice ballot, Burlington will finish its mayoral election on March 3.

With plurality elections, candidates on the same side of the political spectrum, 
who appeal to the same slice of the electorate, often seek to demonize each 
other. Again, this dynamic is absent under IRV.

Because candidates know they may need the second choices from voters who support 
other candidates as their top pick, the campaigns are remaining civil, and 
attempting to reach out to a broader constituency, than would be typical in a 
plurality election. A door-knocker for one of the campaigns recently knocked on 
our door, and had a conversation with my wife. When told that we were supporting 
one of the other candidates, this campaign worker said, "I can see that your 
mind is made up, but I hope you'll look over this leaflet and consider giving my 
guy your second choice."

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