MPR News: Instant Runoff Voting Explained

[trentlobdell]

brilliant. would make me feel like my vote counted more, it would allow for more than two candidates to have a chance, and it would help fight the terrible polarity and winner-take-all effect of the current system.

[refink33]

wonderful.

[redtimmy]

I love this video. What a great explanation.

(video is a little dark and the intro is too long, but otherwise, A+)

[wikichris]

This isn't a GREAT example because purple would win if was most and it won majority too. Better example would be a candidate losing in first round and winning in the second round.

[ajuk1]

Can you add "alternative vote" to the tags so that people in the UK find this?

[cactustactics]

Great video by the way, the stack of sticky notes is a fantastic visual to describe what's happening. We're having a referendum in Britain on using this system in national elections, so I might end up using it to help explain it to people. Thanks!

[SilentScreamvideos]

At :48 Purple would have already won. Why complicate it beyond simple majority?

[afaultytoaster]

@SilentScreamvideos you lack imagination. what if every single yellow and blue voter would have preferred pink?

[SilentScreamvideos]

@afaultytoaster Then they would have voted for pink, wouldn't they? If they preferred pink, then pink would have been their first choice rather than yellow or blue, right?

[afaultytoaster]

@SilentScreamvideos no, because they preferred yellow or blue over pink. are you dense?

[SilentScreamvideos]

@afaultytoaster So let's say pink won. Purple was a number of people's first choice, but pink was more people's 2nd choice. Let's quote the video. "I guess I could live with yellow." Pink might be someone they could live with, but not someone they would choose. Considering purple got the most votes for first choice, why shouldn't they win?

Oh, and calling someone dense is a great way to win an argument.

[afaultytoaster]

@SilentScreamvideos according to your world view, utility is a discrete concept? you're retarded. calling you dense was not part of my argument, just a personal observation

[cactustactics]

@SilentScreamvideos What if purple got 10,000,000 votes and pink got 10,000,001,and a few other million people voted some other way?Is it fair to say "everyone likes pink more than purple" at this point, ignoring the opinions of the other millions of people who had some other first choice but probably have a preference between purple and pink?What if those millions of people all happen to like purple better? Isn't it fairer to find out, instead of saying 'sorry shouldn't have said you like blue'

[SilentScreamvideos]

@cactustactics Alright, I get it now. I didn't think about the possibility of it being that close. Alright.

[cactustactics]

@SilentScreamvideos No probs :) It's not just when it's close either, say 30% voted blue, 25% voted purple, 22% voted yellow and 23% voted pink- they all voted for their favourites, but the purple yellow and pink voters all really hate blue.If we just went with the 1st choice (the First Past The Post system) blue would win even though 70% are anti-blue and would prefer ANY other to win.So this system goes for a result the majority of voters support,it's not always the leader after the 1st choice

[nd017]

A pity it has a name that conjures up images of agricultural slurry pollution...

Looks good anyway

[juxtn]

This is perhaps the best visual to explain the redistribution of the under-voters second, or third, preference. I think places that institute IRV, then repeal it really don't understand the system.

[bobtinsley1]

Burlington, VT just repealed IRV on March 2, 2010. They hated it.

Usually it only takes 2 election cycles (about 4-6 years though) for the citizens to see IRV is not what it was sold as, and they repeal it (Ann Arbor, Pierce County, Aspen, Cary....)

[ddndhd]

I feel very lucky to vote in a city that uses IRV (Burlington VT)

[extraman111]

The music is cute, but how about some information? @:40 "you need a majority" -- OF WHAT? Are the ballots that select fewer than all of the candidates still part of the denominator after every one of their selected candidates is no longer in contention? If yes, then it's possible no candidate ever gets to 50%.

[bobtinsley1]

Many cities have stopped using IRV dues to a host of problems. Mostly that #1 rank vote can hurt their candidate more than a #2 vote. Aspen CO, Cary NC, Pierce County WA, Burlington VT and others either have a vote in Nov. to scrap IRV or already reverted back to the traditional system. The voters and the cities are finding it is not what the salesman have been promoting it to be.

[kitchi1]

Um, can you explain your comment. "Mostly that #1 rank vote can hurt their candidate more than a #2 vote. "

I think your confused on how the system works.

[FeygeleGoy]

Hopefully, this will change what Minnesota had in the last *three* gubernatorial elections: the "winning" governor had substantially less than 50% of the vote. It will also legitimize the winner since they'll have to earn more than the mid-40% from one party to win.

It's about politicians earning broad-base support, not party numbers games.

[crmathman]

Unfortunately, IRV is only used in municipal elections in Minneapolis, and if passed next week, in St. Paul. Other elections, such as for governor, will still be done the same way as it has been.

[Dan1elle]

you haven't understood the video at all ...

[moogle301]

sos for all the comments, kept remembering stuff

this is how we do it at my uni.. i didn't really get why before

[moogle301]

also I guess the main point is that this way the person with the majority of the vote wins as well as the other stuff

[moogle301]

So this removes some of the tactics of voting? Like people who say prefer the Green party voting for a similar more popular party because they know Green won't win,voting not on their fave but on who they think has a chance - I guess then anything which isn't of he two main parties doesn't have much of a chance. This removes that? and means people don't split the left or the right vote by voting for say two left parties?

but looks like a lot more effort to sort out

[aresmars2003]

A nice visual demonstration, using piles of colored post-it notes to show choice elimination and vote transfers. This is exactly how a runoff process works. The main weakness is in IRV (over a real runoff) you have to choose on one ballot, while in a real runoff you get a a chance to look at the other choices again after your favorite is eliminated.

[cajprp2526]

What you give up in having to make your choice on one ballot, you make up for in not having to put up with more weeks of bull_! And with everyone having to experience the same shift in commitment-timing, the better off we may be for having forced ourselves to make better choices as we go, without always leaving a way out in case we feel the need to second-guess ourselves.

[mssedmebich]

You get one vote. Make your choice