In this issue
IRV is constitutional | Oct 18 Party | New Supporters | Claiming Democracy conference | State Taskforce Update | Saint Paul Campaign | FairVoteMN Southeast | IRV 2007 Election Watch IRV is constitutional and the legislature should support Minneapolis implementation These are the messages leading today's Star Tribune op-ed and editorial pages. Law Attorney and FairVote Minnesota Board member, David Schultz, debunks recent concerns about the constitutionality of Instant Runoff Voting in an op ed titled "Instant Runoff Voting is destined to succeed". Schultz' piece came in reply to a letter from the Attorney General to the Secretary of State regarding IRV implementation in Minneapolis which referenced an antiquated 1915 case called Brown v Smallwood as a basis for a potential constitutional challenge. Schultz makes clear that "the 1915 case was not about instant-runoff voting. It was about a law that effectively gave Duluth citizens two votes in some situations, a clear violation of both the Minnesota and United States constitutions. The concern of that decision was based on what the courts now call the "one person, one vote" standard. Instant runoff does not violate this standard because it does not give anyone two votes. It merely allows voters to rank their preferred candidates." This echoes the opinion of DFL Party Chair, Attorney and former FairVote Minnesota board member, Brian Melendez, written several years ago on the Minneapolis Issues Forum: "Instant Runoff Voting simply collapses the primary and the general election into a single ballot. An instant runoff does not violate the "one person, one vote" principle any more than does a primary separated in time." In fact, IRV has been upheld on the principle of "one person, one vote" in legal challenges following its adoption in Cambridge, MA (Moore v Election Commissioners of Cambridge (1941) and in Ann Arbor, MI (Stephenson v Ann Arbor Board of Canvassers (1975). No legal challenges are threatening Instant Runoff Voting anywhere it's in use - San Francisco (CA), Cambridge (MA), Burlington (VT) and Takoma Park (MD). Putting to rest concerns that IRV might be unconstitutional, today's Star Tribune editorial urged the legislature to support Minneapolis' efforts to implement IRV as the state's "dry run of a system that many Minnesotans think would serve the state well." Let Star Tribune readers how much support there is for getting IRV in place in Minneapolis to demonstrate to the rest of Minnesota that there is a better way to vote. Write a letter to the editor today and send by e-mail: opinion@startribune.com; by fax: 612-673-4359; or by mail: Editorial Department, Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave., Mpls MN 55488.
For additional information about the Brown v Smallwood case, see 2002 article in Bench and Bar of Minnesota by Attorney Paul Landskroener and former FairVote Minnesota President, Tony Solgard. Don't miss it - FairVote Minnesota's biennial fall election party!
FairVote Minnesota's biennial fall party for the future of "better" elections is Thursday, Oct 18th (from 6:00 to 9:00 pm) at the home of Brian Melendez. Join leaders from all political parties, legislators, council members and many other IRV leaders for this nonpartisan event. Jon Pratt, Executive Directors of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofit, will talk about how Instant Runoff Voting and other democracy reforms are reshaping Minnesota elections for the better. Join us for an evening of good conversation, delicious food, wine and music. Suggested donation. Click here for event details and to RSVP. New supporters for a better ballot
Several new Twin City business and community leaders are backing Instant Runoff Voting as a key political reform in Minnesota, including: Chuck Denny, former CEO of ADC Communications, Humphrey Institute Fellow and community volunteer; Lee Lynch, retired CEO and Co-founder of Carmichael Lynch and co-founder of the new web-based media company, Minnpost; Bill Cosgriff, Attorney at Briggs and Morgan, member of the Board of Trustees of the Friends of the Saint Paul Public Libraries and long-time volunteer serving various community organizations; and Bill Sands, Chairman of Western Bancshare, Inc. and former chair of the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board. Claiming Democracy Conference in D.C. D.C. based FairVote is holding its Claiming Democracy conference the weekend of November 9 - 11th. On Sunday, there will be a full day of workshops on Instant Runoff Voting, including building and winning ballot measure campaigns, messaging and media, voting machines and other implementation challenges and advancements in state legislation. Jeanne Massey, a lead organizer of the Minneapolis Better Ballot Campaign, will present on Minneapolis' 2006 IRV victory. Several members of FairVote Minnesota will be attending the conference. If you plan to attend and wish to connect with others who will be attending from FairVote Minnesota, please contact Jeanne Massey at jeanne.massey@fairvotemn.org For conference details and registration, go to: www.claimdemocracy.com Ranked Choice Voting Issues Group update
Name Change
The statewide taskforce on Instant Runoff Voting has been officially named "Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) Issues Group". This is in an effort to be consistent with how Instant Runoff Voting/Single Transferable Vote is being called in California and other states. Next Steps
The Technical Advisory Committee of the RCV Issues Group met frequently over the past two months to review state election law and identify areas in statute that need to be addressed in writing rules and procedures for ranked choice voting elections in Minneapolis and Minnesota. This process is completed and a report was presented to the overall Issues Group at its meeting on September 19th. The next steps include: 1) writing rules and procedures for ranked choice voting and to develop a legislative strategy for the 2008 session; and 2) reviewing equipment options for the implementation of ranked choice voting in Minneapolis. A new committee, called Legislation & Rules Committee, has been formed to tackle the first task and the Technical Advisory Committee will undertake the second. The committees will meet regularly through December. If you are interested in participating, contact Beth Fraser at the Office of Secretary of State. St. Paul Better Ballot Campaign aims for '08
The Saint Paul Better Ballot Campaign has collected over 5,000 signatures to put IRV on the ballot there, demonstrating Saint Paul voters' desire for better elections. While the campaign has the required number of petition signatures to have advanced IRV to the ballot this year, it is aiming for '08 to give more time to fully educate voters citywide about Instant Runoff Voting and why it's a better way to vote in Saint Paul. FairVote Minnesota agrees that this is a strategic and smart decision and will support the Better Ballot Campaign's effort to win on the ballot next November. Nov 13 Kick-off Fundraiser: Stay tuned for details on an upcoming kick-off fundraiser for the '08 campaign on November 13th with host John Hottinger and other big fans of Instant Running Voting for Saint Paul. Getting the message out: Educating voters citywide in a large turnout presidential election year is a big task and the campaign is wasting no time in getting started. It's continuing to collect signatures to demonstrate voter support, build support among city council and charter commission members, educating voters at events and raising money. Candidate questionnaire: To discover what candidates vying for city council seats next year in Saint Paul think about Instant Runoff Voting, FairVote Minnesota, along with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the Saint Paul League of Women Voters and Minnesota Public Interest Research Group sponsored a candidate questionnaire. Responses were due on October 1 and will be available soon on the FairVote Minnesota website. IRV amendment under review by Charter Commission: In the meantime, the Saint Paul Charter Commission has referred the Instant Runoff Voting charter amendment proposal to the Charter Review Committee, which will consider the proposal and make recommendations to the Charter Commission regarding how to proceed in moving the proposal forward. Check out the Saint Paul Better Ballot Campaign website for more news, how to become involved and how to donate to help IRV win in Saint Paul. FairvoteMinnesota SouthEast is out in the field In the last FairVote Minnesota E-news, we highlighted the launching of FairVoteMinnesota SouthEast, a program to educate Southeast Minnesota communities about Instant Runoff Voting and to facilitate community interest in initiating charter amendment efforts around Instant Runoff Voting. FairVote Board member and Lake City resident, Dag Knudsen, is heading up this program and is getting out and about in the field educating Southeast Minnesotan's about Instant Runoff Voting. Click here to read highlights of this work in the inaugural edition of the FairVote Minnesota Southeast newsletter. 2007 IRV election watch Instant Runoff Voting elections will be held in five cities in October and November. San Francisco (CA) will have its fourth IRV contest since 2004. Cambridge (MA) voters have been ranking city council and school board candidates on their ballots for over 50 years. Cary and Hendersonville are the first two cities to participate in North Carolina's statewide Instant Runoff Voting pilot project. Takoma Park, Maryland, adopted IRV in 2006 and first used it in a special city council election in 2006. It will be used for all local races this November, though it looks like there will not be many multi-candidates races up for an IRV contest. IRV will appear on the ballot in Sarasota (FL), Aspen (CO) and Clallam County (WA). Read more at www.FairVote.Org about these ballot measures. 
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