Save Instant Runoff Voting Memphis

New legal opinion supports case for IRV

November 28, 2017November 28, 2017
by IRV Memphis

Donati Law Firm released an opinion of the legal viability of the instant runoff voting plan to be instituted by the City of Memphis in response to the letter from State Elections Coordinator Mark Goins.

“Despite State Elections Coordinator Mark Goins’s September 26, 2017 letter to Shelby County Election Administrator Linda Phillips regarding the proposal of Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) in Memphis, Tennessee, Instant Runoff Voting does not violate current Tennessee law or the Memphis City Charter. Following Tennessee Supreme Court precedent and accepted statutory construction doctrines, IRV complies with state law and the applicable city charter provisions.” You can read the full opinion by clicking the link here: 11-28-17 Legal Opinion – Re-IRV

IRV

Shelby County Democratic Party Supports IRV!

November 27, 2017November 27, 2017
by IRV Memphis

The Shelby County Democratic Party endorses Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), also known as Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).

We ask that you please write to your City Council representatives and let them know you support this initiative.

IRV saves the city money by removing the need for runoff elections, which Smart City Memphis estimates can cost up to $250,000 dollars per election. Memphis has experienced at least one runoff election during each of the past three City Council elections.

Read the rest of the post here!

IRV

Portland Press Herald: Our View: Brennan Ranked Choice Voting…

November 19, 2017November 19, 2017
by IRV Memphis

Portland can have confidence in its new mayor and the system used to count the votes. The results are in and Michael Brennan is not the only winner in Portland’s mayoral election: The other is ranked-choice voting.

The new system of counting ballots, which attracted a high degree of skepticism from people in and around Maine’s biggest city over the last year, got its trial run Tuesday and Wednesday, and it was the skeptics who were proven wrong.

A field of 15 candidates was whittled down to a threeway race, and Brennan, the candidate who proved to have the broadest appeal, ended up the winner. He will go into office next month with a majority of voters at his back.

Read the entire article here!

IRV

State official questions legality of Memphis instant runoffs

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017
by IRV Memphis

Instant runoffs in Memphis City Council races could violate state election laws, according to a Sept. 27 opinion by Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins…

Despite Goins’ opinion and a similar informal opinion from council attorney Allan Wade, Shelby County Administrator of Elections Linda Phillips continues to prepare to implement instant council runoffs. Phillips said her role is to administer the will of the voters, so it’s “above my pay grade” to decide against using ranked-choice voting.

Read the entire article here.

IRV

MPR News: Instant Runoff Voting Explained

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017
by IRV Memphis

On Tuesday, November 8, 2009 St. Paul, Minnesota held its first instant runoff voting election. Minneapolis started using IRV (aka ranked choice voting) in 2009. MPR’s Curtis Gilbert and Molly Bloom explain how the new system works.

Watch the video here.

IRV

Minneapolis winners, and some losers, praise ranked choice voting

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017
by IRV Memphis

Minneapolis Mayor-elect Jacob Frey and his challengers Ray Dehn and Nekima Levy-Pounds joined a handful of newly elected city officials and nonprofit FairVote Minnesota, which has been a driving force behind instituting ranked choice voting in the state.

Watch the video here.

IRV

Minneapolis Candidates Speak about Ranked Choice Voting Impact

November 10, 2017November 10, 2017
by IRV Memphis

Listen to the mayor-elect, Jacob Frey and candidates speak about ranked choice voting. View the press conference here.

IRV

Ranked Choice Voting Wins Again in MSP Elections

November 10, 2017November 10, 2017
by IRV Memphis

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL | November 10, 2018 – While every election has its winners, one of the biggest winners of Tuesday’s elections in Minneapolis and St. Paul was democracy, thanks to Ranked Choice Voting. With a diverse slate of candidates, issue-focused campaigns, and voter turnout numbers at the highest they have been in more than 20 years, the positive impact of Ranked Choice Voting on the democratic process has never been clearer.

Read the rest of the press release from Minneapolis and St. Paul here.

IRV

Voter Turnout Surges in All Four Cities with Ranked…

November 10, 2017November 10, 2017
by IRV Memphis

DREW PENROSE NOVEMBER 08, 2017

As we reported yesterday, Election Day 2017 featured several high profile ranked choice voting elections in cities and towns. Altogether, more than 200,000 voters ranked their choices in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Cambridge, Mass. and Takoma Park, Md in cities with a total population of about 844,500. Voters had real, meaningful choices, and could honestly rank those choices without needed to consider strategically how others would vote.

Yesterday made one thing clear: ranked choice voting can help foster a healthy political environment with competitive elections and high voter turnout.

Read the rest on FairVote’s website. Click here.

IRV

Memphis Daily News: Ranked Choice Voting Faces Repeal Effort

October 12, 2017November 10, 2017
by IRV-901

By Bill Dries

Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips uses the planets to walk people through how ranked choice voting works. Even Pluto is included in the nine-way race, although it is no longer considered a planet.

She took the example to the Memphis City Council last week, the only elected body affected by the city charter provision that would have voters rank their choices in a single-member district council race by preference. It does away with later runoff elections in races where no candidate gets a simple majority of the votes cast.

The candidate with the lowest total in the initial election is eliminated. The vote count then takes the second preference of voters and distributes them to the other candidates. That continues until someone has a majority of the votes cast. If the second preference is also out of the running, the count goes to a third preference. If that third preference gets counted out, the ballot is then declared “exhausted” – unusable.

Read the rest at Memphis Daily News!

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DREW PENROSE NOVEMBER 08, 2017