Money coming to the states, Minnesotans urged to require IRV-readiness

As a consequence of the troubled 2000 election that
propelled him into office, President George W. Bush was presented by the
Congress with election reform legislation, which he signed on October 29. Known
as the Ney-Dodd-Hoyer-McConnell “Help America Vote Act of 2002,� H.R. 3295
authorizes billions of dollars for states to replace antiquated voting machines
and make improvements in election administration.

There will be money coming to Minnesota as well, likely to
include funds for purchase of touch-screen voting equipment to meet the
accessibility requirements of the new law. This presents an opportunity for
proponents of instant runoff voting and various forms of proportional
representation to obtain voting equipment that is compatible with those
alternative methods.

Besides opportunity, there is also some urgency for
proponents of better methods of voting to act. Since this legislation has been
anticipated for some time, demand has been pent up, and purchasing decisions
will likely be in process before too long. There are two focal points for
action:

At the state level, ranked-ballot compatibility should be
required for all new voting equipment certified for use in Minnesota.

At the local level, purchasing criteria should include
ranked-ballot compatibility.

FairVote Minnesota will continue to monitor these
developments and report on opportunities for action. For further information,
see

http://www.fairvotemn.org/articles/archives/progressequip06072002.html,

http://www.fairvotemn.org/articles/archives/machines_03012002.html,

http://www.fairvote.org/administration/index.html, and

http://www.electionline.org/.