This past week, I received my absentee ballot in the mail. I am registered as a permanent absentee voter because I like the fact that I can vote while laying on my bed, or slumped down in my couch. It's just decadent to be exercising one's civic duty while wearing a ratty t-shirt and boxer shorts. But the reason for this posting is not to talk about my slothfulness, it is to highlight the fact that San Francisco is the first jurisdiction in the country to use a method of voting called Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). We are using it ONLY for the supervisors races. In San Francisco there are 11 districts, each electing a representative to the board of supervisors. This year, the odd numbered districts are up for election, which meant that I was going to using IRV to determine which person will serve District 9, which encompasses the Mission, Bernal Heights and the northern third of the Portola district.
I've dug up some articles about IRV but our best source of voting theory and execution is my friend Jeff O who has spent the two summers between his years in law school working for two different voting rights/reform organizations. During our camping trip this summer he was able to show me why our "winner take all" method of determing winners is the worst way we could do it. Here is an FAQ about IRV and an article praising IRV.
Voting went off without a hitch. Let's hope that my preference for president is able to sway enough voters his way in Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio and Florida to name a few places.
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