1. What is changing in how Burlington elects its mayor?

We are going to use instant runoff voting (IRV) to elect the mayor as of March, 2006.

2. What exactly is instant runoff voting (IRV)?

It is a voting method that determines the majority winner, no matter how many candidates are in a race. By giving voters the option of ranking candidates in order of choice, it combines a regular election and runoff into a single election.

3. How do I mark my ballot for mayor?

You simply fill in the 1st choice bubble next to your favorite candidate, the 2nd choice bubble next to your 2nd favorite, and so on. You can rank as many or as few candidates as you like, but the more candidates you rank, the greater the chance that your vote will help to elect someone you like and prevent the election of a candidate you dislike. Click here to see a sample ballot and instructions for marking it.

4. How did this change to IRV come about?

Over 64% of Burlington voters voted in favor of the IRV Charter amendment in March, 2005, and it went into effect on May 12, 2005, when the governor signed the ratification bill, H.505, which had been passed by both the House and Senate. Click here to view the new IRV Charter language.

5. Why was this change made? What was wrong with the old method?

Under the old system a candidate could be elected with as little as 40% of the vote, meaning a candidate could win even though 60% of the voters didn’t like him or her. This violated the principle of majority rule. If no candidate received at least 40%, taxpayers would have to pay for a separate runoff election. Under IRV, we get a majority winner, we only have to pay for one election, and voters have more choice.

6. Does this effect how we vote for city council and other races?

No. IRV only applies to the mayor’s race. Voting for city council and other races has not changed.

7. Why not just use a typical two-election runoff procedure?

Two-round runoffs have distinct disadvantages. Runoffs tend to have a lower voter turnout. IRV increases the likelihood that the ultimate decision will be made at the election with the greatest level of citizen participation. The winner of a separate runoff election may get fewer votes than an opponent got in the original election, leading to doubts about the “will of the people”. Traditional runoffs are also costly, both to the taxpayers who must pay for the duplicate election and to the candidates who must resume campaign fund-raising and prolong the stress on their families and business lives.

8. Does a first choice vote count twice as much as a second choice, or what?

No. IRV doesn’t work like that at all. Your ballot only counts for one candidate in any round of counting. Your ballot will count only for your 1st choice as long as that candidate remains in the race. But if that candidate gets eliminated, your vote will count for your 2nd choice, and if your second choice gets eliminated, your ballot will count for your third choice, etc.

9. How are the votes counted to determine the winner?

If one candidate receives a majority of first preferences, that candidate is elected. However, if no candidate is the first choice of at least half the voters, the instant runoff re-tabulation will be performed. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. In the next round, every ballot then counts as a single vote for each voter’s preferred candidate who has not been eliminated. In other words, if your favorite candidate is still in the running, your ballot counts for that person in this runoff round as well, but if your favorite candidate has been eliminated in the runoff, your ballot automatically counts for your next choice. This process of eliminating candidates and re-tabulating the votes continues until just two candidates remain. Whichever of these two finalists has the most votes is the winner. Click here to view a flash animation of how IRV works.

10. Can ranking a second or third choice hurt my favorite candidate?

No. Your vote counts exclusively for your first choice as long as that candidate has any chance of winning. Your second, third choice, etc., are your back-up runoff choices. Your ballot only counts for your 2nd choice if your 1st choice does not make it into the runoff.

11. What if I don’t want to rank candidates? I might not know much about some of them. What if I only like one candidate?

You are free to vote for only one candidate. However, if you have any preference among the other candidates, then it’s in your best interest to rank additional candidates (in case your favorite does not make it into the final runoff). But if you only want to rank one candidate, your vote will be valid and will count for that candidate.

12. What if my favorite candidate gets eliminated in the runoff count, but I haven’t ranked any alternate choices?

Then your ballot doesn’t count in the runoff—this is like voting in the first round of an election, but not coming back for the runoff. That’s why it’s in your best interest to rank as many candidates as you have an opinion about, rather than “bullet” voting for just your favorite candidate, until you are completely indifferent about the remaining ones.

13. Can I rank my favorite candidate 1, 2 and 3 to help him or her?

No. Ranking the same candidate more than once does not help that candidate any more than giving that candidate your 1st choice. Your vote will count for your favorite candidate until that candidate gets eliminated. If your favorite gets eliminated, but you gave that same candidate your second ranking, then it will be come “exhausted” and not count for any candidate in the runoff, if one is needed.

14. Can I give the same ranking to several candidates if I like them equally well?

No. If you give the ranking to more than one candidate, your ballot will be invalid when that ranking is reached, unless only one of the candidates is still in the race, in which case your vote will count for that candidate.

15. Is IRV a proven voting method?

Yes. It’s been used in public elections around the world for over 100 years, and it is a recommended voting method in current editions of Robert’s Rules of Order, called “preferential voting”.

16. Where else is IRV used?

San Francisco elects all city offices using instant runoff voting, and the Mayor of London is elected by IRV. The President of Ireland and the House of Representatives of Australia have been elected by IRV for over 80 years. Other users include the Utah Republican Party for both internal elections and for nominating their candidates for U.S. Congress, Louisiana and Arkansas for their overseas and military voters, and many U.S. non-governmental organizations, including the American Political Science Association.

17. Will IRV require the city to buy new voting machines?

No. Burlington’s current voting machines can handle IRV.

18. Will IRV cost the city more money?

There are some small transition costs (such as voter education efforts), but the ongoing cost impact is negligible. Indeed, compared to the cost of running a separate runoff election provided in the old Charter, IRV could save the city a substantial amount of money.

19. Does IRV give some voters more votes than others? Does it violate the “one person – one vote” principle?

No. Every voter gets an equal vote. In every round of counting, every ballot counts as one vote for the highest-ranked candidate still in the running. If your candidate is still viable, your vote will count for your favorite candidate in the runoff round. If your candidate has been eliminated, just as in a traditional runoff election, you need to settle for one of the remaining candidates. Your vote automatically counts for whichever continuing candidate you prefer. The mistaken impression that some voters get more votes than others was the basis for a legal challenge to IRV in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The court rules that IRV fully complied with the principle of “one person, one vote” giving equal weight to each voter. The judge wrote in his decision:

“Under the [IRV system], however, no one person or voter has more than
one effective vote for one office. No voter’s vote can be counted more than
once for the same candidate. In the final analysis, no voter is given greater
weight in his or her vote over the vote of another voter, although to
understand this does require a conceptual understanding of how the effect
of a “[IRV] System” is like that of a runoff election. The form of majority
preferential voting employed in the City of Ann Arbor’s election of its
Mayor does not violate the one-man, one-vote mandate nor does it deprive
anyone of equal protection rights under the Michigan or United States
Constitutions.”

20. Is the IRV winner a true majority winner?

Since IRV uses the exact same logic as regular runoff elections, you might as well ask whether a candidate who wins a runoff election is a real majority winner. Some voters may sit out a separate runoff election, and some voters may not rank either of the finalists on an instant runoff ballot. Just as in a traditional separate runoff, one candidate ends up with a majority of votes among those voters who chose to express their preference between the finalists. Robert’s Rules of Order and the Michigan court decision that upheld the constitutionality of IRV are clear that IRV is a system to determine a majority winner in a single election. The judge in that case wrote in his decision:

“Each voter has the same right at the time he casts his or her ballot. Each
voter has his or her ballot counted once in any count that determines
whether one candidate has a majority of the votes.”

21. I’ve heard that a candidate who comes in second can win. Is this true?

Some people who don’t understand IRV occasionally jump to this mistaken understanding. Just like a regular runoff election, the winner of an IRV election is the candidate preferred by a majority (more than half) of the voters who express their preference. In a traditional separate runoff election (and under IRV) it is certainly possible that a candidate who was not ahead in the first round, might turn out to be the most popular choice after the field of candidates is reduced to two. A candidate who was in first place in the first round of a traditional runoff (let’s say with 35% of the vote), might not be the majority choice. In fact, that candidate could be the least preferred choice by 65% of the voters. What matters with IRV (and traditional runoff elections), is which candidate is preferred most among all voters once the field is reduced to two finalists, and the candidate in first place at the end is always the winner.

22. If candidates with the fewest votes are dropped first, does that mean the supporters of the weakest candidates get extra clout?

No. The supporters of the most popular candidates determine which candidates advance and which candidates are eliminated. Once the weakest candidates are eliminated, every voter has a single equal vote than can count for either of the final contender . . . meaning everyone has an equal voice in deciding the election.

23. But what about the sequential elimination of candidates from the bottom, rather than immediately going to just two finalists? Is that the normal way?

Yes. Using a round by round runoff in which candidates are dropped one at a time is a standard procedure. It is used by the U.S. Congressional caucuses for electing their leaders and is long mandated in Vermont election law for party nominations by committee (17 V.S.A. §2384).