Sample letter to Assembly members We encourage you to edit this letter to address your local needs and personal preferences. ----------- Assemblyman Cal Ifornia State Capitol, Room 5000 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2000 (916) 319-2100 fax iforniac@asm.ca.gov Re: Electoral reform Dear Assemblyman Ifornia: I would like to ask you to support a few bills that will help improve the woefully outdated infrastructure of California's democracy. I am especially interested in bills that move toward use of instant runoff voting at the local level. Instant Runoff Voting would ensure a majority vote in a single election, boost voter turnout, and fix the "spoiler" or "split-vote" dilemma. It does this by having voters rank candidates; the winner is determined by eliminating candidates one at a time and ensuring that each vote goes to the highest-ranked candidate. IRV is likely to be a part of the future of California's democracy, and I urge you to help make some cautious steps toward that future. * AB 1039: Local Electoral Freedom bill State law currently forces all local jurisdictions to use plurality voting, which allows people to win with less than a majority of the vote, and subjects candidates to the "spoiler" or "split-vote" effect that added to the controversy of November 2000 Presidential election. Chartered jurisdictions are an exception; they can amend their charters to allow use of better methods like instant runoff voting. San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Oakland, and San Leandro are chartered jurisdictions that have already done this. Other cities and counties equally deserve this right. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock has introduced AB 1039 in 2003, which would allow general law cities to adopt election reforms that work better than plurality voting. This would involve a very simple change to the Elections Code. Please support this bill and consider becoming a cosponsor. * AB 1515: Instant Runoff Voting for special elections This bill, introduced by Speaker Hertzberg in 2001 (but not currently active), would ensure a majority vote in a single special election, boosting voter turnout and avoiding the expense of a special runoff election. It does this by having voters rank candidates; party nominees and the overall winner are determined by eliminating candidates one at a time and ensuring that each vote goes to the highest-ranked candidate. The bill will only apply where the appropriate voting equipment is available. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about these bills or about instant runoff voting. Thank you for considering this request. Sincerely, Ima Voter