Governors Split on Advancing Our Elections

On April 4, Vermont governor Jim Douglas chose to veto legislation to re-establish majority elections for Congress in his state through instant runoff voting. Vermont would have been the first state to enact IRV for Congress; legislative leaders affirmed their commitment to the bill, and it is sure to move in the state again. FairVote has worked hard to support this legislation, which likely generated more than 600 phone calls to the governor from Vermonters.

On April 7, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation entering Illinois into the National Popular Vote plan for president. The NPV plan now has states making up more than a sixth of what it will take for the plan to go into affect. It also has passed fully a sixth of our nation's state legislative chambers, including most recently in Maine, Vermont and Hawaii.

[AP/Boston Globe Article on the Veto]
[Vermont Public Radio on the Veto]
[Brattleboro Reformer Editorial]
[More on IRV in Vermont]
[www.InstantRunoff.com]
[National Popular Vote Plan]
[FairVote's Presidential Elections Page]
[Hendrik Hertzberg rips Gov. Douglas in his blog ]