[Election-Methods] Fwd: [election_leaders] Is IRV Hurting Minorities in Fair Vote Home Town?

[Kathy Dopp]

Thought this list might be interested in this "real world" example of IRV.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: jmc27106 at earthlink.net <jmc27106 at earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 8:32 PM
Subject: [election_leaders] Is IRV Hurting Minorities in Fair Vote Home Town?

Is Instant Runoff Voting Hurting Minorities in Fair Vote's Home Town?

Ground Zero for IRV is also "Ground Zero" for minority representation
in government. Zero meaning zilch, nada nothing.

The latest canard is that IRV helps minorities. A July 24 news article
shows that this is not true, at least not in the home town of the Fair
Vote Director, Rob Richie.

The "IRV helps minorities" claim was used on the North Carolina State
Legislature last month, and I believe it worked, even though it was
challenged by Representative Angela Bryant.

Yes, "the truth is out there", right there in Fair Votes' own back yard.

It turns out that Fair Vote Director Rob Richie's home town of Takoma
Park Maryland, the home base for IRV, has Zero (0) zilch NADA minority
representation. And voter turnout flat out sucks.

A July 24 news article compares minority representation in the
governments of 3 Maryland towns. Takoma Park is the loser.

Greenbelt mulls changes to its voting system Thursday July 24, 2008

Takoma Park and College Park both have district systems, but each
still has majority white councils. College Park has two women, one of
whom is African-American but Takoma Park, in Montgomery County, has no
minority representative...

"Takoma Park is 34 percent African-American.." yet "....Takoma Park,
in Montgomery County, has no minority representative. "

Turnout in Takoma Park? "Of the 17,299 total city population, only
1,010 people voted in the last City Council election."

....Takoma Park is divided into six voting districts. There are six
council members and one mayor. All of its elected officials are white.

Takoma Park City Manager Barbara Burns Matthews admitted the council
was not representative of the community according to census data,
especially since the city has a large immigrant population.

One of the problems, Matthews said, is lack of contention. In the last
election, only one district had multiple delegates running. The others
only had one name on the ballot.

Doesn't this sound like San Francisco in 2007? Low turnout, stale
stagnant politics with no real competition for the mayors contest, one
candidate for DA, and 2 candidates for Sheriff? Incumbent protection.

More on Takoma Park's underperformance:

Takoma Park instituted instant-runoff voting two years ago, in which
voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate
receives a majority of first-preference rankings, the candidate with
the least number of votes is eliminated and votes are redistributed to
the voters' next preferences among the remaining candidates.

... Of the 17,299 total city population, only 1,010 people
voted in the last City Council election, City Clerk Jessie Carpenter
said...


Regards;

Joyce McCloy
NC Coalition for Verified Voting
336-794-1240  jmc27106 at earthlink.net  www.ncvoter.net



-- 

Kathy Dopp