Instant Runoff Voting WA

Instant Runoff Voting WA
Welcome to www.irvwa.org :: www.irvwa.com

Notice, Feb 5, 2008 - Please visit and bookmark the new IRVWA web site!!
This hosting will close in the coming months.
IRVWA is not ending, just moving to a new content system.
irvwa.org and .com will route to the new website.

Dec 2006: IRV elects SF Supervisor (Google Video)
SF Supervisor wins with IRV (Fairvote.org)

	Lobbying 2007 - IRV in the Legislature
	King County IRV Opportunity, 2007 Charter Review
	Lobby for Pierce County IRV (new local option bill, 2007)
	Pierce County IRV Blogs
	Yes on Amendment 3, Pierce County (campaign web site)
	Pierce County would benefit from instant runoff voting

US Senate race in Washington (2006) - vote in an IRV poll

Visit the IRVWA Blog for the late NEWS and ACTION updates.

Watch animated Flash demo about IRV

____________

Purpose

The organization of IRVWA was formed in 2004 to attempt an initiative to the legislators and to advocate for implementation of Instant Runoff Voting in WA statewide and locally.

The upcoming year of 2007 the IRVWA org will have a focus of Lobbying, Educating, Fundraising and Outreach.

You will see some changes at this website very soon to reflect the refocusing of IRVWA efforts.

We hope you continue to stay engaged in the “on the ground” efforts of educating your legislators, neighbors, friends and family about the benefits of IRV.

Click picture for radio interviews

_____________________

Quick Start

++ Act Now ++

	SIGN IN for IRV
	How can I help?
	Join announcement list
	Contribute $$$

== Background ==

	How does IRV work?
	Why do we need IRV?
	Initiative Comparison CHART

How does Instant Runoff Voting work?

There is a simple way to make elections fairer for all while saving taxpayers money too. It's called Instant Runoff Voting! It only requires one single election to work. Voters simply rank the candidates and mark their ballots with their first choice, second choice, etc. Ballots are counted by first choices to see if there is a majority winner. If not, a runoff election is counted by "eliminating" the last place candidate and transferring each ballot cast for him/her to the remaining contenders, based on the voter's ranking. If this doesn't produce a majority winner, the process is repeated until it does.

Visit this online Flash simulation, to see how IRV works, IRV Flash demo (This demo shows results for Florida 2000, and Washington State 2000. We recommend you watch both. Note how ranking changes the outcome, after each runoff count. In this IRV demo, the final winner has a true majority of votes. This is better than the current "plurality" system which doesn't require a majority to be elected.)

Benefits of Instant Runoff Voting

	IRV ensures fair elections, where the candidate preferred by the majority wins instead of loses (eliminates the "spoiler effect").
	IRV saves time and money by eliminating the need for the primary.
	IRV increases voter choice and turnout because voters can feel good about voting for who they want.
	IRV decreases "negative campaigning" because candidates need to address the majority this increases the attention to the "real" issues at hand.
	IRV ensures parties can nominate and declare their "official" candidates so parties retain their right to present their chosen candidates to the voters.
	IRV is simple for voters - you mark your 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, etc, of candidates for a position.

How can I help?

Volunteer to help educate about IRV

Contribute money! (printing, distribution and promotion cost $$$)

Tell others about this campaign. Send the campaign web address, www.irvwa.org to all your Washington friends

Write letters to the editor, of your local newspapers, telling them you support IRV.

To find your local newspaper online, try one of these links:

http://www.gebbieinc.com/daily/wa.htm

http://www.newspaperlinks.com/voyager.cfm

Join the IRVWA campaign announcement list, to get news updates, and action notices.

Join the state listserve for discussion about IRV in WA state: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InstantRunoffWA/

Contact Information

Telephone: Toll free 1-866-IRVWAORG (1-866-478-9267)
FAX: (206) 542-3182
Postal address: IRVWA, 17544 Midvale Ave North, Suite 107, Shoreline, WA 98133
Electronic mail: General Information: info@irvwa.org; Webmaster: webmaster@irvwa.org

Join announcement list

Join this email list to get campaign news, and updates. NOT a discussion group.

Visit the announcement archive, to configure your subscription (join, leave, etc).