April 17, 2008 – The Minneapolis City Council voted, nearly unanimously, today to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for voting equipment to conduct the November 2009 municipal Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) election. It also adopted an ordinance that prescribes the rules for IRV elections.

This is a major step forward in the process of implementing IRV, which was approved by the voters in November 2006 by a 2 to 1 margin and they expect to begin using IRV in 2009.

FairVote Minnesota has been concerned about the delay in implementation and advocating that the City Council fast-track the RFP. What typically takes the City three to four months to do it did in just over a month, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Elections Committee Chair Elections Director Cindy Reichert, and staff from various other city departments.

Please contact Council Member Glidden, your council member and Cindy Reichert to thank them for their work.

Council Member Glidden has recognized the efforts of FairVote Minnesota supporters:

“I really appreciate all of their work to date and patience with the long and complicated process. Thank you very much as well, for your work in bringing to bear research, policy guidance, and advocacy all at appropriate moments.”

The timeline for implementation remains tight. Proposals are due August 1 and the review and selection process must also move forward expeditiously in order to meet the 2009 implementation goal. For additional background information, see Minneapolis IRV Implementation FAQ.