Instant Runoff Voting is getting a lot of attention in San Jose these days and there is a growing possibility that an IRV charter amendment will make the ballot in 2010.

San Jose currently uses two round runoffs to elect its mayor and city council. Switching to IRV would require voter approval of a charter amendment which could be placed on the ballot by the council. In April, the county's Democratic Party, one of the major players in San Jose politics, endorsed a resolution calling on the city council to place a charter amendment before voters.

Mayor Chuck Reed and a number of city council members are IRV supporters. Over a year ago, Reed and the council kicked consideration of IRV over to the city's Election Commission, whose agenda has been loaded with an unrelated mess of issues, anonymous complaints and city hall intrigue. After fits and starts and intermittent consideration of IRV, the Commission wants to take a closer look at it and is scheduling a separate meeting or study session to do so.

In June, the New America Foundation and Common Cause sponsored a public forum about IRV in San Jose that featured city council members Sam Liccardo and Ash Kalra, along with CfER president Steve Chessin and a representative from the League of Women Voters. The forum attracted the attention of the San Jose Mercury News and can be viewed on the New America Foundation website.

With support from council members, the mayor and the Democrats, IRV has as good a chance in San Jose as anywhere. People who want to lend their hands to this effort should write letters to the editor, attend Elections Commission meetings when IRV is on the agenda, and get in touch with CfER contact Jim Stauffer in San Jose (email ).