[EM] 0/03/02 - FWD - [instantrunoff] IRV @ Carleton College!

[Donald Davison]

0/03/02 - FWD - [instantrunoff] IRV @ Carleton College!

  ----------- Forwarded Letter -------------
To: instantrunoff at yahoogroups.com, instantrunoffmn at yahoogroups.com
From: dolmans at carleton.edu
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 17:42:09 -0600
Subject: [instantrunoff] IRV @ Carleton College!

Here's a success story for IRV supporters.  The Carleton Student
Association at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota will use Instant
Runoff Voting to elect officers to the student government in the next few
weeks.  Carleton already uses cumulative voting for its Senate and other
bodies, but has relied on plurality voting for executive positions.

How did this happen?  I made a presentation to Senate that the election
guidelines in its by-laws elected officers without majority support.  Using
the packet developed by the Center for Voting and Democracy, I showed how
IRV elections are fairer and more democratic.  As an additional important
point, I noted how the plurality system discourages students from running.
With IRV, Carleton might have more participation.

My proposal (which I made having no official status within student
government) was passed on to Policy Committee.  I went to Policy Committee
meetings to answer questions about IRV, and they were impressed.

An ironic twist in the story is that, known to no one, IRV was already
built into the constitution.  However, since nobody knew what was meant by
"preferential voting," the by-laws were later drafted for a plurality
system.

As a way to ensure the success of IRV, I applied and interviewed for an
replacement appointment on the Senate.  I was nominated by the proper
committee and confirmed by the Senate.  Since becoming a Senator, I've been
involved with the IRV ad-hoc committee and I can also help as part of the
Election Task Force.

Since I have full voting rights now as a Senator, I look forward to
approving an upcoming measure to get the by-laws in line with our
IRV-friendly constitution.

Currently, the webmaster is developing an input system for the elections,
and there should be a test system ready by the end of the weekend.  We're
using ChoicePlus Lite, or possibly some in-house solution.

A nice surprise is that the change to IRV is happening the same year that I
got the ball rolling.  It looks like it's a good thing, too, since we
expect to have at least three people running for President, and about five
for Vice President (there aren't joint tickets at Carleton).

So for those interested in getting IRV implemented, try making a proposal
to lawmakers and then get appointed/elected as a lawmaker.  It worked for
me.

Good luck in all your efforts to promote IRV around the country!

Best,
Seth Dolman


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Kill the 'wasted vote' syndrome by ranking candidates (1, 2, 3) and
requiring a majority of votes to win. Help end plurality elections.

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For more information: www.fairvote.org, www.midwestdemocracy.org,
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MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT!
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