WCAX: IRV repeal expected to sail through legislature

WCAX: Montpelier, Vermont - March 8, 2010:

IRV repeal expected to sail through legislature

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate say they are going to follow the will of Burlington voters and approve a charter change repealing Instant Runoff Voting. Some had been pushing for a delay on the vote.

When Burlington residents voted to repeal Instant Runoff Voting, it still needed to go through one more step to become final. The legislature must approve any charter change, and both leaders in the House and Senate say they will take it up and pass it.
"Our hope is to bring it forward as quickly as possible," said Rep. Shap Smith/D-Vt. House Speaker.

Sen. Peter Shumlin/D-Vt. Senate President Pro Tem: "I expect the legislature will move and support the will of the voters."

Reporter Kristin Carlson asked: "And that includes you?"

Sen. Shumlin replied, "Absolutely."

"It seems to me that the people of Burlington have spoken on this issue and I would concur with them on their viewpoint," said Rep. Smith.

A united front that hurts the effort of people still fighting to save IRV, and bolsters IRV opponents who had worried Progressives would seek a delay. Some had talked behind the scenes about trying to stall a legislative vote for a year, so Instant Runoff Voting could be brought back to Burlington residents. Both House and Senate Leaders say if there's a change, then they'll simply hold another vote.

"It's our job to follow the will of the voters and that's what we do here in charter change requests," said Sen. Shumlin.

In response Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss says he remains disappointed in the outcome of the IRV vote, but that the charter change is not his decision, it's the legislatures, and he will leave it to them.

UPTATED: IRV has been repealed in Burlington

UPDATE BELOW

The vote tally has yet to be certified, but unofficial results from yesterday's city election show that citizens voted to repeal IRV by 52% (3,972 to 3,669). Question $5 to repeal lost in all wards except 4 and 7. In Ward 6 it was pretty much a 50/50 split. Here's the breakdown by ward (thanks to Shay Totten):

Ward 1: 405 to keep, 264 to repeal
Ward 2: 428 to keep, 185 to repeal
Ward 3: 510 to keep, 292 to repeal
Ward 4: 1203 to repeal, 606 to keep
Ward 5: 793 to keep, 545 to repeal
Ward 6: 490 to keep, 477 to repeal
Ward 7: 1006 to repeal, 437 to keep

The winning margin is not overwhelming. In fact, it shows there are plenty of citizens who are still split about the way Burlington chooses its mayor. Clearly, the two groups outside Burlington that campaigned against Question #5 are embarrassed; the money they donated to their efforts didn't match up to the grassroots organisaton and enthusiasm of the Burlington citizens.

Shay interviewed Jason Lorber (50%matters) and Sandy Baird (Repeal IRV) for their analysis of the vote on Channel 17's election coverage.

The Lege in Montpelier will have to approve this vote since it is a Charter change.

UPDATE:

Side Note: En route to the Repeal IRV post-election gathering in the NNE, I received a phone call from VPIRG, one of the state organisations opposing Question #5. It was a solicitation phone call for another donation. (I've been a long-time supporter of their environmental activism.) But I thought it was strange that they were phoning on election night and told the nice woman just that. I also told her that I did not appreciate an outside group meddling with a local citizen initiative and that VPIRG should stick to their environmental activism, but not expect another annual contribution from me. "Would you like me to pass on that comment?" she asked. "Sure," I replied, "but I don't think it will do any good."

Town Meeting Day!

From A town meeting lesson, an editorial in today's Rutland Herald:

Vermont is called the most rural state because the highest percentage of its residents lives in small towns and rural settings. Today is the day when this dispersed but civic-minded populace meets in schools and town halls throughout the state to take care of local business. Town Meeting Day is both ordinary and extraordinary — as commonplace as the town's road salt budget, as meaningful as democracy itself.

[...]

One should not underestimate the importance of what to the outsider looks totally mundane. Veterans of town meeting know how townspeople can tie themselves into knots discussing issues that seem small but which are intimately tied to local personalities and to long histories of controversy. Voters are not making decisions in the abstract; rather, they are working out a town's complex and all too human history.

City voters will decide repeal question

Indeed, the 50%Matters folks have establishment state and local politicians and state political organisations listed on their website as endorsers of continuing IRV. The audacity of it!: Trust us, we know better than you! This approach of deceiving the voters is much like what the pro-fluoridationists - CDC, ADA, etc. - used a few years ago in the Burlington referendum to remove fluoride, asking the voters to trust their authority - when the science was not on the side of water fluoridation. Repeal IRV in Burlington is a citizen initiative and not funded by groups outside Burlington.

Avoid a Tampering of Ballots on March 2: Vote in your Ward!

Vermont Election Laws

§ 2590. Securing and storing ballots, tally sheets and checklists

(c)
"Ballot bags or containers shall not be removed or tampered with in any other way, except under COURT ORDER, or by ORDER OF ANY AUTHORIZED COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

I am convinced that City Hall is so concerned about the Repeal IRV vote that they'll do anything to keep IRV in the city elections, even fraudulently!

When you vote in the March 2nd City Election, I urge people who want to repeal IRV to vote at their ward polling station. Don't vote at City Hall or by Absentee! The ballots are stored at City Hall and can be opened and changed!

(Remember, in March, 2008, it was ward 7 ballots boxes that Jonathan Leopold ordered Ben Pacy to break, three times, and all he got was a slapped wrist!)

Cross posted at Repeal IRV.

Burlington Free Press supports repeal of IRV

Via Repeal IRV:

Burlington Free Press supports the repeal of IRV!

IRV - Let's Do the Numbers

A referendum whether to continue IRV (Instant Runoff Voting) in Burlington's mayoral elections will be on the March 2nd Town Meeting Ballot.

Watch the video below... an analysis of the 2009 Burlington mayoral election, which was an IRV election. Watch closely as the narrator does the numbers count for that election. Do you think tallying up the results is confusing? I know it's confusing! - I was in Contois Auditorium last March as the results were brought in from all 7 wards and "counted." Have you ever been tricked by a shell game?