For immediate release

August 23, 2010

Contact: Jeanne Massey; 763-807-2550; jeanne.massey@fairvotemn.org

 

Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) Party Endorses

Ranked Choice Voting

 

St. Paul, Minn. – Mindful that a majority-backed candidate hasn’t won the gubernatorial race in 16 years, the Minnesota DFL Party took a stand for electoral reform by renewing its endorsement of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) at its state central committee meeting held in St. Paul on Saturday.

DFL activists, facing the possibility of a plurality winner in the governor’s office once again, passed a resolution in the party Action Agenda approving Ranked Choice Voting (or Instant Runoff Voting) for all local and state elections. Support for the measure was broad and decisive: The resolution was passed with more than 60 percent support from delegates.

DFL candidate for governor, Mark Dayton, who also received party endorsement Saturday, supports Ranked Choice Voting.

“[Ranked Choice Voting] eliminates plurality-wins-all elections and ensures that public officials are elected with the support of a majority of voters.”

Support for RCV was also strong among other DFL candidates who competed for party nomination, including Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Matt Entenza, R.T. Rybak, Tom Rukavina, John Marty and Paul Thissen.

The DFL Party is joined by the Independence Party, the Green Party, the Ecology Democracy Party and the Libertarian Party of Minnesota, which all favor Ranked Choice Voting.  It’s used in a rising number of municipalities around the country, including Minneapolis and San Francisco and beginning this November in Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro, California.  St. Paul, Memphis, Tenn. and Telluride, Colo. will make the switch to RCV next year. It has long been used for many countries’ national elections, including Australia, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and New Zealand. A statewide move to RCV would put Minnesota at the forefront of electoral reform.

Ranked Choice Voting is based on the principle of one-person, one-vote and lets voters rank candidates in order of preference on the ballot. If a candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, that candidate wins. Otherwise, the lowest vote-getter is dropped and his/her votes are redistributed to remaining candidates based on the second choice on those voters’ ballots. This process is repeated until one candidate reaches a majority. It works like a traditional runoff-off, but in a single election. RCV can be used in state partisan primaries and general elections, where it avoids the need for costly runoff elections, and in local nonpartisan elections, where it eliminates the need for a primary and brings together the most candidates with the most voters in one decisive election in November. 

The RCV system fosters elections that are fairer, smarter, cheaper, and cleaner. It more accurately reflects the will of the voters and upholds the principle of majority rule; under RCV, a candidate needs the support of a majority of voters to win. RCV eliminates the “spoiler” dynamic and concerns about “wasted” votes. It reduces the cost of elections, avoiding the need for costly run-offs. And since candidates know that being a voter’s second choice is of tangible benefit, RCV promotes civil, issue-based campaigning.

Minneapolis held its first Ranked Choice Voting election last November with tremendous success: 95 percent of voters called it “easy to use,” and just one single ballot in the whole election was found to be defective. St. Paul will implement RCV in its 2011 elections; Duluth and Red Wing are considering RCV charter amendments.

“Minneapolis proved that RCV works and voters think it’s simple to learn. It’s time to move forward to adopt RCV statewide and bring majority rule back to Minnesota,” said Roann Cramer, chair of Senate District 60 and member of the FairVote Minnesota board.

“It’s a new day and voters want more choices; the DFL recognizes this,” added former party chair Rick Stafford, who spoke in favor of the resolution.

The political parties are part of a long and growing list of Minnesota organizations supporting RCV, including the League of Women Voters, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the Star Tribune, the Minnesota Farmers Union, the Sierra Club Northstar Chapter, Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, and Citizens for Election Integrity. See the current list of organizational and individual endorsements at www.fairvotemn.org.

Young party activist Zack Farley is thrilled by the party’s support for RCV, which he believes “gives candidates a real incentive to reach beyond their narrow base to appeal to a broad majority of voters. We as DFLers should strive for this.”

The endorsement effort was led by FairVote Minnesota, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization leading the statewide RCV initiative. FairVote is seeking support from all political parties.