On August 27, Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, a Republican, said he won’t run for re-election in 2010. This makes it somewhat likely that a Democrat will be elected Governor next year. This is good news for supporters of Instant Runoff Voting. Vermont is the only state in which the legislature has ever passed a bill, providing that IRV should be used for state or federal elections. However, Governor Douglas vetoed it.

The news will also cheer supporters of the National Popular Vote Plan for presidential electors. Douglas vetoed that bill as well.

On August 27, the California Senate Appropriations Committee took no action on AB 308, so it becomes a “two-year” bill, and will next get action in 2010. This is the bill to help absentee overseas voters who are voting in a race that may require a second round of voting (an old-fashioned run-off). The bill would have made it possible for an overseas absentee voter to vote in both stages at the same time, using a single piece of mail. That avoids the problem that the postal mail to a foreign address might not get back and forth in the run-off quickly enough to be counted.