Urge Governor Schwarzenegger To Sign Key Electoral Reform Legislation
AB 1294 (Mullin) — Local Option for Ranked Voting
NOW IS THE CRITICAL TIME TO INFLUENCE THE GOVERNOR TO SIGN AB 1294
AB 1294 is CfER's bill to allow cities and counties to use ranked voting systems, including instant runoff voting and choice voting.
Ranked voting is more fair, preferred by voters, saves local governments money, and can lead to dramatic improvements in effective voter participation. Charter jurisdictions already have the ability to use these systems, and AB 1294 extends this "local option" to all cities and counties. The bill passed the California Legislature on September 12th and is now on the Governor's desk. We have a short window of time to influence the Governor before he decides how he will act on the bill.
Please contact the Governor Schwarzenegger today and urge him to sign AB 1294. You can call, email, fax, or send a postal note. The most important thing is to do it immediately.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-445-4633
Phone: 916-445-2841
Email: visit http://gov.ca.gov/interactAs a rule of thumb, legible handwritten letters are better than typed or computer printed ones. Letters (as long as they’re legible) are better than faxes. Faxes are better than emails. Emails are better than phone messages. Phone messages are better than illegible handwritten letters. And all of these options are vastly preferable to doing nothing and then regretting it later. The most important thing is to take action immediately.
For more information, see Background or About Instant Runoff Voting or Talking Points or Supporters below. A sample letter appears below.
AB 1294 would allow all cities and counties to use ranked voting systems to elect their representatives. The bill would allow these jurisdictions to use Instant Runoff Voting for single-winner elections or Choice Voting (a ranked voting system similar to IRV) for multiple-winner elections. It would also add to the state Elections Code the guidelines and procedures that registrars and equipment vendors need to count and report ranked voting elections.
AB 1294 passed in the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting on April 17th and the Committee on Appropriations on May 9th and was passed in the full Assembly on June 6th. The bill then moved to the Senate, where it passed in the Senate Elections Committee on July 10th and the Appropriations Committee on August 27th. It just recently passed the full Senate on September 10th and received Assembly concurrence on September 12th, thus effectively having passed in both houses of the Legislature. The bill is now on Governor Schwarzenegger's desk. We have a short window of time to influence the Governor before he decides how he will act on the bill.
In addition to the successful votes above, we are also very pleased that a number of other legislators have signed on as co-authors of the bill, including Assembly Members Mike Davis, Loni Hancock, Jared Huffman, Betty Karnette, John Laird, Fiona Ma, and Lois Wolk, in addition to the principle authors Gene Mullin and Mark Leno.
This bill is important in that most local jurisdictions are not able to use ranked voting systems under current law, and this bill would permit them to do so. Today only charter counties or charter cities can use IRV, but over three-fourths of cities and counties are general law jurisdictions and don't have these options. Over half of Californians live in a general law city, a general law county, or both. AB 1294 would give these jurisdictions these additional options, but would not mandate that any jurisdictions use these systems. In other words, it is simply permissive and gives local governments the tools they need to respond to the wishes of their voters.
Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) ensures that the winner of a single-winner election has the support of the majority of voters in a single election. By eliminating the need for a costly runoff election it saves local governments a lot of money -- about $1.6M per election in San Francisco alone. IRV also eliminates vote-splitting and spoiler effects, both of which undermine the public's confidence in the political process. Finally, IRV helps promote positive, issue-based campaigns with less negative campaigning because candidates will seek 2nd and 3rd choice votes in addition to 1st choice votes.
San Francisco has used Instant Runoff Voting extremely successfully for three consecutive elections, and all academic and survey research shows that the results have been excellent. San Francisco voters understood IRV extremely well, used it effectively, and overwhelmingly prefer it to the old two-round runoff system that they had used for decades.
Given the momentum for ranked voting building around the country -- shown last November in Oakland, Davis, Minneapolis (MN) and Pierce County (WA) -- this bill comes at an excellent time.
For information on Instant Runoff Voting, see FairVote's website (http://www.fairvote.org) or their excellent page on IRV at: http://www.fairvote.org/irv/
From FairVote's IRV page:?page=178 How Instant Runoff Voting Works: IRV allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference (i.e. first, second, third, fourth and so on). Voters have the option to rank as many or as few candidates as they wish, but can vote without fear that ranking less favored candidates will harm the chances of their most preferred candidates. First choices are then tabulated, and if a candidate receives a majority of first choices, he or she is elected. If nobody has a clear majority of votes on the first count, a series of runoffs are simulated, using each voter's preferences indicated on the ballot. The candidate who received the fewest first place choices is eliminated. All ballots are then retabulated, with each ballot counting as one vote for each voter's highest ranked candidate who has not been eliminated. Specifically, voters who chose the now-eliminated candidate will now have their ballots counted for their second ranked candidate -- just as if they were voting in a traditional two-round runoff election -- but all other voters get to continue supporting their top candidate. The weakest candidates are successively eliminated and their voters' ballots are redistributed to next choices until a candidate crosses a majority of votes.
Instant runoff voting allows for better voter choice and wider voter participation by accommodating multiple candidates in single seat races and assuring that a "spoiler effect" will not result in undemocratic outcomes. IRV allows all voters to vote for their favorite candidate without fear of helping elect their least favorite candidate, and it ensures that the winner enjoys true support from a majority of the voters. Plurality voting, as used in most American elections, does not meet these basic requirements for a fair election system that promotes cost-saving elections with wider participation.
1) AB 1294 IS ABOUT LOCAL CONTROL AND LETTING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS DO WHAT IT BEST FOR THEIR CITIZENS
AB 1294 simply provides an option, not a mandate. It makes it possible for general law cities and counties to consider election reforms that can increase voter participation and save our municipalities money. General law cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs. Currently, only charter cities have this opportunity, and it should be extended to all local governments.
The bill requires voter approval in order to adopt a change to ranked voting, so it will only be implemented where there is strong public support for the change.
2) COST SAVINGS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
AB 1294 imposes no fiscal cost to the state. It gives local governments an opportunity to save money, in some cases a considerable amount. Most jurisdictions have majority requirements which mandate costly runoff elections. This bill gives local governments, often operating on very limited budgets, an option to save scarce tax dollars for other purposes by finishing the election in a single IRV election.
San Francisco alone saves around $1.6 million per election, which is real money when we are talking about local government budgets. Los Angeles recently held a runoff election for local government offices that cost $5 million dollars and only had 6% voter turnout.
3) IRV HAS AN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD WHEREVER IT HAS BEEN USED
All of the available research and surveys of the usage of IRV in various places show that ranked ballot methods are popular and easily understood by voters. In San Francisco’s IRV elections, every single demographic in the city – defined by where they live and their race, age, gender, party and political philosophy – greatly preferred IRV to the old separate runoff system by a three-to-one margin. Over 87% of voters said that they understood IRV perfectly well or fairly well, and voters two-to-one perceived the instant runoff voting system as more fair than the prior two-round runoff system. From the standpoint of voter acceptance, ranked voting has proven exceptional in San Francisco and all other municipalities where it has been used.
4) UNIFORM ELECTION CODE SUPPORT
Uniform election code support for these electoral methods will help both charter and general law jurisdictions
that want to use them.
City and county officials and/or local Registrars are not put in the difficult
positions of having to make up such procedures themselves
5) AB 1294 IS BROADLY SUPPORTED
See the partial list below of organizations and individuals supporting AB 1294.
SUPPORTERS OF AB 1294 INCLUDE:
SAMPLE LETTER TO GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER
[ Note: Letters to public officials are always more effective when they are in your own words. The example below is best used as exactly that -- an example. Please see the talking points above for useful ideas for your letter ]
[Date]
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
I urge you to sign AB 1294, giving all cities and counties the option to use Instant Runoff Voting and Choice Voting. These ranked voting systems have proven themselves to be both good for local governments and good for voters.
Local governments can save a lot of money by being able to elect their representatives in a single election, without the need for a costly runoff election. San Francisco alone saves over $1.6 million per election. Los Angeles just recently held a set of runoff elections that cost around $5 million and only had a 6% voter turnout. That money could be better spent elsewhere, and democracy would be better served by involving more citizens in the process.
Instant Runoff Voting works well, and voters understand it, use it effectively, and like it. Voters in San Francisco preferred IRV by a three to one margin over their previous system, and two to one thought it more fair.
This bill would give general law cities and counties the same opportunity to use ranked voting methods that charter cities and counties have now. These forms of voting can be advantageous in many situations and cities and counties should have the right to make the decision as to whether to implement them based on their particular circumstances and the will of their electorates, rather than being constrained as under current law.
Sincerely,
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[YourNameHere]
If you have questions, please contact:
Rob Dickinson
Executive Vice President
Californians for Electoral Reform
Email: rdickinson@cfer.org
Web: www.cfer.org
Phone: 650-365-6025
Mobile: 650-544-5925
Last revised September 17, 2007