Instant runoff voting needs support

For those of y ou who have cable, the Public Access television program, "A Growing Concern" on this last Friday night featured David Delk of the Portland Alliance for Democracy speaking about Instant Run Off Voting.

Along with David, Barbara Dudley, of Oregon Working Families Party spoke about HB 3040, which will institute Fusion voting for the state of Oregon.

Each had a brief Power Point presentation as well. A good way to learn about both these efforts to make our elections a bit more democratic.

This program will replay on Sunday evening at 10:00 on channel 23 and again on Thursday at 10:00 on channel 22.

I've included a few freeze frames from the video. Hopefully they will be viewable.

I'd be glad to run off some dubs of this program if anyone has an interest in showing it around to their friends, neighbors or community.......

I support IRV for a foot in the door; then with wider competitive parties mattering, work for more... IRV will have the pragmatic effect of having corporate parties working for it, which will get it past the gatekeeping door.

Republicans have in the past offered IRV in Alaska when they thought they would win informal second round totals (with right-wing/separatist parties of Alaska splitting the right demographic in Alaska).

Democrats have offered it as well when they thought they would win informal second round wins in Arizona for instance (with Green parties splitting the left demographic in Arizona.

These are just two political examples of who have pressured it into formalization in the past, though this was the common dynamic: a party already in power wanting to shore itself up without appealing to larger demographics, only to second round plurality wins--so it could continue to be less representative in the first round.


suggested reading:

Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Who's Trojan Horse Is it? IRV as Both Half Step for Democracy and as Solidifying Corportocracy, Beware
 http://biostate.blogspot.com/2006/11/whos-trojan-horse-is-it-irv-as-both.html

excerpt:

"For how IRV needlessly serves to maintain and even solidify the U.S. two party corrupt party framework, and for how other mechanisms would be more beneficial read on.

While I would support IRV as a Trojan Horse "moving into the city" held by the Democratic-Republican neocons, remember that it is as well a horse that serves to perpetuate Democratic and Republican second round wins, without them having to earn the votes. Thus, beware that IRV can serve as a Trojan Horse in the reverse: maintaining the same old parties in power without any change of policy even as their base of support has eroded, as much as building the potentials of more competitive parties.

Either way it is interpreted, IRV has difficulties itself. It is at best a half-step toward a more optimal democracy--though perhaps an important half step.

In this short post I'll compare IRV to PRMA, or 'proportional representation with majoritarian allotment,' which is a full step that removes some of the still unrequired limitations of IRV."

 http://biostate.blogspot.com/2006/11/whos-trojan-horse-is-it-irv-as-both.html