Portland Charter Commission Instant Run-Off Voting Meeting

Thursday, January 14, 2010

5:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Portland City Hall, Council Chambers

SPEAKERS:

Rob Richie, Executive Director, Fair Vote

Jo Lamarche, Former Burlington, VT Clerk (by phone)

Linda Cohen, Portland Clerk

Julie Flynn, Assistant Secretary of State

Support Instant Run-off (Rank Choice) Voting for Portland!

The Portland Charter Commission is considering Instant Run-off Voting for future local elections. Come speak out in favor of this important election reform on Thursday January 14th at 5:30pm at Portland City Hall in Council Chambers.

What is Instant Run-off Voting?

Instant Run-off Voting is a revolutionary new way of voting! The candidate who is elected must have over 50% support and there are no "spoilers".

As a voter you can rank candidates in order of preference, 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc. If no candidate receives over 50%, the 2nd choice votes of the candidate receiving the lowest percentage are re-allocated accordingly. With IRV you can vote for your favorite candidates in order of preference and never be helping elect your least favorite candidate or "throwing away your vote".

Here at The League we have supported IRV for a long time. Now we have a chance to implement it for future Portland elections! Hope to see you Thursday!!