Instant Runoff Voting would have solved the Praisner problem
by Erik Connell
by Erik Connell
The issue of legislative vacancies has been on a lot of people's minds lately. The media spectacle of disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich trying to sell President Obama's former U.S. Senate seat has put the issue at the forefront of national attention. Senators McCain and Feingold are teaming up once again to propose a 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, aimed at mandating special elections for Senate vacancies, just as is currently required for all U.S. House vacancies. Meanwhile, newspaper editorial boards and grassroots groups across the country are jumping on the bandwagon to endorse the sensible prospect of allowing the people to choose their representatives.
The Blagojevich example illustrates the need to hold elections for
vacant seats, as opposed to leaving the decision up to an individual,
or even a group of legislators. As we saw, the process is easily
corruptible - those with the power to appoint are able to "sell" seats,
or try to gain political influence or allies through the appointment
process. In addition to this, it goes against our basic democratic
value that we should elect the people that represent us.
While
the new McCain-Feingold amendment certainly deserves to pass, it would
not fix all of the problems that plague filling vacant seats in this
country, as we will see below.
Here in
Montgomery County, we're facing our own questions about representation.
The death of County Councilman Donald Praisner will bring about the
second special election in the county since last May, when Praisner
himself replaced his late wife Marilyn. Mr. Praisner won his seat after
winning both the District 4 special Democratic primary and the special
general election last April and May. The cost of administering these
two elections combined for over $1.3 million.
In
other words, the County spent $1.3 million to elect a single person -
and will be doing so again soon. Also, turnout dropped from the already
low 11.5% in the primary to 8.5% in the general, as voters knew the
winner of the democratic primary was certain to win the heavily
democratic district. Expect the same turnout drop-off to replicate
itself in the impending District 4 special general election.
These
issues triggered Praisner to suggest appointing a successor rather than
electing one. At first glance, it would seem like there are two
competing interests here - whether to save money on special elections
in these tough economic times by simply appointing officials - or
whether to prevent corruption and partisan gaming by electing officials.
While
Praisner was right to complain about low participation at high expense
for special elections, as we saw above, appointments aren't exactly a
panacea.
The compromise solution to both of
these problems is clear: have a single election for vacancies using
instant runoff voting (IRV). IRV is a voting system in which voters
rank candidates in order of preference. Candidates are then eliminated
and their votes redistributed until one candidate has a majority of the
vote.
IRV would solve both problems, as an
election would be held, but there would be no need for a primary. The
cost of running vacancy elections would be cut in half, as there would
be only one election. The drop-off in turnout from primary to general
would also be averted this way - and this would all be done without
worry that the potentially crowded field in a special election could
result in a spoiler problem or election of a candidate that most voters
disapproved of.
This reform is not merely a
theory - it is used in many jurisdictions around the nation. Dozens of
cities around the nation have adopted IRV for their elections,
including Montgomery County's reform-minded Takoma Park voters. The
idea has even attracted the interest of both President Barack Obama,
who sponsored IRV legislation when serving in the Illinois legislature,
and Senator John McCain, who backed it for statewide use in Alaska.
Both
the Blagojevich scandal and the current economic crisis have saddened
many Americans. But if there's a silver lining to the current clouds in
the air, perhaps it could be that, due to these unfortunate
circumstances, Americans rethink the way we do democracy, and move
toward common-sense reforms like instant runoff voting for vacancy
elections.
Erik Connell is an analyst for FairVote, an election reform advocacy group based in Takoma Park, MD.
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