South Carolina Picks Instant Runoff Voting for Military and Overseas Voters

Arkansas SOS image of military voterSouth Carolina will provide an instant runoff voting (IRV) ballot for military and overseas voters after Gov. Sandford signed HB 3720 into law on March 24.

States and cities with runoffs traditionally have difficulty mailing, receiving and processing a second runoff ballot for citizens stationed overseas in the narrow period between the first and second elections. With IRV, only one mailing will be needed. An overseas voter's choice will be counted in the runoff for the top-ranked candidate on the runoff ballot who has advanced to the runoff. In the event a voter's first choice is not in the runoff, the runoff ballot will count for the second or third choice, depending on which candidate has advanced.

[ Read Text of HB 3720 (.doc) ]
[ How ranked choice ballots work in Louisiana ]
[ An AP story on the issue quoting FairVote ]
[ Visit the Overseas Vote Foundation's Website for more information ]