[Peace-discuss] How IRV is working in Vermont

[E. Wayne Johnson]

Refreshing.  Better not let that happen here.

C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> [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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