Talking Points for Charter Review Testimony



Dear Electoral Reform Supporter,

ADOPT RANKED CHOICE (aka INSTANT RUN-OFF)
VOTING IN KING COUNTY!!

 

We have a real chance
to build on the recent success of Pierce County where Instant Runoff Voting
(IRV), aka Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), was supported by a majority of that
county’s voters and will now be used in most county elections starting this
year. We can do this by convincing the King County Charter Review Commission,
which recommends charter changes to the King County Council every decade, to
recommend the adoption of IRV as our county’s voting system.

 

In case you are not
familiar with the advantages of IRV, additional information may be obtained by
looking at www.irvwa.org or www.fairvote.org.

 

You can help by writing
a letter as soon as possible urging Charter Review Commission members to
recommend the adoption of IRV to the King County Council. Also consider attending
the meetings of the Commission. Their schedule is found at http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/charter/meetings.aspx.

 

Address Your
Letter to:

King County Charter Review
Commission

C/0 Mark Yango
-Charter Coordinator

Executive Office-Columbia
Center

701 5th
Avenue Suite 3210

Seattle, WA 98104

 

or via email Charter Review King County
Government

or call (206)
296-4628

to leave a message
in support of IRV

 

Talking Points 

  • RCV is more democratic and representative than our
    current plurality system because it ensures that the winner is supported by a
    majority of voters. It encourages higher voter turnout and is a more precise
    measurement of voter preferences.     

  • RCV allows people to vote for their preferred candidates
    without the threat that by doing so they may help elect the candidates they
    support the least.

  • RCV offers a positive alternative to the unpopular “pick
    a party” primary since it accomplishes the narrowing down function of primaries
    in a single election. It therefore has the potential to save hundreds of
    thousands of dollars each cycle by consolidating the low-turnout August primary
    into the high-turnout general election.

  • RCV has proven very popular around the country from
    Cambridge, Massachusetts where it has been used for decades, to Burlington,
    Vermont to San Francisco, where it has earned high voter reviews since being
    instituted in 2005, to Pierce County, where it was supported by a clear
    majority of the voters when placed on the ballot in 2006. In fact, RCV has won
    in each of the last ten elections where it was placed on the ballot.

 

For more information contact Instant Runoff Voting of
Washington (IRVWA) (206) 523-3656, email joeszwaja@earthlink.net