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FairVote MN 2010 Election Media Kit

Media Kit

Minnesota Faces Plurality Outcome -- Again -- in Race for Gov

Minneapolis (August 6, 2010) -- Can it really be 16 years since Minnesota last elected a governor with majority support? It hasn’t happened since Arne Carlson won re-election in 1994 with 63 percent of the vote.

And, with highly contested races in the three-way DFL primary and seven-way general election in front of us, the prospect of breaking this pattern seems remote.  These divisive outcomes frustrate and polarize voters, exacerbate partisanship and rancor, and diminish the winners’ ability to govern effectively.

Elections in which candidates lack majority support – or may actually be opposed by most voters – set us up for failure in politics and, more importantly, in policymaking.

Elections in which voters feel conflicted between voting their hearts and voting their fears weaken the value of their vote.

Elections in which voters hold back their vote for third-party candidates out of concern that they’ll help elect the candidate they don’t want to win marginalizes viable third-party voices from the political process. 

The back story of this year’s gubernatorial race is about an electoral system in urgent need of reform.

The current system, designed for an era in which there were almost always only two parties on the ballot, no longer reflects the current realities of Minnesota politics. Instead, plurality elections -- including the past decade and a half of gubernatorial elections -- have become routine. Since 1998, no fewer than 42 of our federal, statewide and legislative races (not including primaries) have been decided by a minority of votes.   This trend shows no signs of slowing.

Minnesota is not alone. Around the country, several state primaries have already failed to yield majority winners, in some cases requiring subsequent costly and low-turnout runoff elections.  States that don’t hold runoffs saw primary winners with very low support; the Illinois Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill Brady, eked out a primary win with just 20 percent last February.

Nationally and in Minnesota, polls show a growing number of voters are not affiliated with any party. More than 70 percent of likely Minnesota voters in a 2009 statewide survey by MPR and the Humphrey Institute last year said they would consider voting for an independent or a third-party candidate. In a Gallup poll earlier this year, 37 percent of Minnesotans called themselves "moderates," an equal share "conservative," while 22 percent called themselves "liberal.

The reality of these numbers tells us that Republicans and DFLers are no longer appealing to the majority of voters, particularly in our competitive top state races. Third-party candidates have captured enough votes to split the electorate enough to produce minority electoral outcomes.

Elections that produce winners without majorities do not promote the kind of constructive political dialogue and thoughtful, cross-partisan policymaking we need in these difficult times. Electing leaders who feel responsible for - and accountable to - a majority of Minnesota’s citizens is an important precursor to effective governance. 

Ranked Choice Voting could break this dangerous cycle of divisive politicking and hamstrung leadership. Under RCV, voters choose the candidate they prefer — as they would on a traditional ballot — but also mark a second choice and additional choices if they wish. If a candidate receives a majority of votes in the first counting, that candidate wins. If not, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated and his or her ballots are reassigned to the remaining candidates based on voters' second choices. If there's still no majority winner, the process repeats until one candidate gains a majority of support.

Ranked Choice Voting (a.k.a. Instant Runoff Voting) is like a traditional runoff but conducted in a single election, making the process simpler and more cost effective than holding a second or runoff election to accomplish the same purpose.

Ranked Choice Voting is a solution to the shortcomings of our outdated voting system: It promotes political competition by eliminating the fear of wasted votes and spoiler candidates, tempers the worse impulses of campaigning and reduces political polarization, preserves the basic democratic principle of majority rule, and produces more representative outcomes.

That’s why RCV has been adopted in a growing number of cities across the country, from North Carolina to San Francisco and in democracies around the world, including Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia and Scotland.  It had a successful debut in Minneapolis last year and is on track for implementation in St. Paul next year.  Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro, California, will hold their first RCV election this November. Meanwhile, it is being considered in America's most populous cities - New York and Los Angeles – and in Minnesota’s third largest city, Duluth. Voters in Great Britain will decide next year if they want to use it to elect their members of Parliament. 

We believe that Minnesota voters are ready for a change in their electoral process and that this is a story that needs to be covered.  FairVote Minnesota is working to raise awareness among Minnesota voters and can help you produce a thoughtful, impactful story with the resources below.

FairVote Minnesota was founded in 1996 to work for better democracy through public education and advocacy. Our focus is on progressive voting systems that lead to greater competitiveness, better representation and more participation in elections

Website: http://www.fairvotemn.org/

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

FairVote MN representatives below are available to Twin Cities news organizations to offer timely perspective on this issue related to the 2010 general election. 

  • Tim Penny, former U.S. Congressman; president, Southern MN Initiative Foundation tjpenny@mchsi.com, 507.455.3215
  • Russ Stark, St. Paul City Council Member: Russ.Stark@ci.stpaul.mn.us, (651) 266-8640
  • Wy Spano, director, University of Minnesota-Duluth Center for Advocacy and Political
    Leadership; public affairs consultant: wy@avnerspano.com, 651.470.4488
  • Steve Kelley, former state senator; director, Director of Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Humphrey Center: spkelley@visi.com, 952.933.4107