Vermont Secretary of State Deb Markowitz is asking the Vermont legislature to pass a bill that would let Vermont use Instant-Runoff Voting for one or two particular state offices in the future. The legislature will decide which offices. Markowitz then plans to use a hand-count for whichever offices are chosen. She feels this is the only practical solution, since each Vermont town decides for itself which vote-counting technology to use.
I am very much in agreement with the Secretary of State’s proposal.
She has the best of intentions, but IRV is not the voting system we should be supporting. Range Voting is cheaper, simpler, monotonic, FBLE and IIA compliant, and produces substiantlly higher social utility efficiency than Range Voting, not to mention it will end two-party duopoly, whereas IRV leads to two-party domination, as we have seen in Australia, Ireland, Fiji, and Malta.
We need Range Voting.
http://reformthelp.org/issues/voting/range.php
Clay Shentrup
Seattle, WA
Of course, what a great site and informative posts…