Full Speed Ahead for IRV and choice voting in Minneapolis

A county judge in Minnesota has sided on every legal issue with the city of Minneapolis and defendant intervenor FairVote Minnesota in a challenge against Minneapolis implementing instant runoff voting and choice voting for its elections this November. The ruling is a sweeping victory for advocates of IRV and proportional voting in Minneapolis. With a 65% mandate from voters in a 2006 measure, the city will move forward on implementing these systems for November 2009.

The ruling comes in the midst of major interest in instant runoff voting in Minnesota in the wake of the controversial U.S. Senate recount. The Washington Post cited it in an editorial on Jan. 13, while several leading Minnesotans have embraced IRV for statewide elections.