Vermont Instant Runoff Voting Fact Sheet

1. For most Vermont elections, the candidate who gets the most votes is declared the winner, even if a majority of the voters voted for other candidates. This is called the "plurality" winner.

2. In the case of certain offices (governor, lt.-governor, and treasurer) the Vermont Constitution requires the winner to get a majority of the vote not just the plurality. If no candidate gets a majority the decision of who should be governor is taken away from the voters and given to the general assembly.

3. The members of the general assembly, instead of the voters, have elected Vermont’s governor 21 times. One time, in 1835, with no majority winner, the legislature could not agree on who should be governor, and Vermont had no governor for that term (the lt.-governor filled in).

4. Vermont’s campaign finance reform law kicks in starting in the year 2000. With public financing for certain statewide races, it is likely there will be more than just two credible candidates. The presence of three or more serious candidates increases the likelihood that no candidate will get a majority.

5. Instant Runoff Voting has been proposed as a solution to assure that the candidate preferred by a majority of the voters wins the election, keeping the decision in the voters’ hands. The Vermont House of Representatives passed a resolution (HR.37) setting up the Vermont Commission to Study Preference Voting to advise it.

6. Instant Runoff Voting has been used by other democracies around the world for more than 80 years. Countries using this system include Australia and Ireland.

7. Instant Runoff Voting works by allowing voters to mark their ballot with their first-choice candidate, but also their second-choice, third-choice and so on as well. If no candidate gets a majority of first-choice votes, the same as in a regular runoff, the bottom candidates are eliminated and those candidates’ supporters have to select one of the remaining candidates. But, rather than calling the voters back for a new election, those voters have already indicated their alternate choices, so the ballots simply need to be recounted.

8. Instant Runoff Voting does not favor or hurt any particular party or political ideology. It simply provides for majority rule through direct elections.

9. Voters have every reason to vote their true preferences without worrying about wasting their vote, or "spoilers" splitting the votes of like-minded voters. Voters’ second-choice votes can never help defeat their first-choice, since their ballots are only transferred to their second-choice if their first-choice is the bottom vote-getter and cannot win anyway.

10. This reform has essentially no cost for statewide elections other than for redesigning the ballot and educating voters how to mark it - ranking their preferences. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.