Lmst

A primer on Instant Runoff Voting / Ranked Choice Voting in Washington DC for the 2026 elections.
https://51st.news/dc-ranked-choice-voting-2026/
#RankedChoiceVoting #InstantRunoffVoting #RCV #IRV #WashingtonDC #DC #2026 #education #primer #elections #voting #vote

Hi, I'm Evan (he/any).

TLDR: I'm a privileged white hetero-cis-male politically #left #TriratnaBuddhist #SoftwareEngineer (#IHelpPeopleGetJobs) currently in #Seattle but planning to move to #AotearoaNZ or #Australia as so as we can manage it with my wife & 3 kids

I'm politically #left (at least in United States terms). I'm a #voting nerd in that I have a favorite voting-related textbook (Collective Decisions and Voting by Nicolaus Tideman).

I think we could mostly solve #gerrymandering by making larger districts with ~5 representatives instead of just 1 and then using #SingleTransferableVote. That would strike a nice balance between local & proportional representation. For single-person positions, like presidents/governors/mayors, STV becomes #RankedChoiceVoting (aka #InstantRunoffVoting aka #AlternativeVote) which eliminates the spoiler effect and leads to more civil campaigns.

Plus, #RankedChoiceVoting eliminates the need for primaries and runoffs, which can lead to significant cost reductions.

I'm training for ordination with the #TriratnaBuddhist Order (#dhamma, #dharma, #Buddhism) and have been for many years. It's a long process, especially with other things going on. I've done some kind of #meditation (mostly #anapanasati) every day for over 3 years and more sporadically since 2006.

That said, I do take issue with some of the things the founder (Sangharakshita) did, and I'm concerned with a recent rise in sort of guru worship around. I can have gratitude for his explanation of the dharma, try to sort out the idiosyncratic bits, and still view him as a deeply flawed human being.

I write #software for http://indeed.com (job search site) (previously employed by Amazon). I've written a lot of #database-backed #webservices in #Java, but in the last few years, I've been working on #microfrontend platforms in #JavaScript & #TypeScript, primarily supporting #React. I have more knowledge about #Webpack #ModuleFederation than anyone should be cursed with. I'd love to try #SolidJS, #RustLang seems really cool, and I'm excited about the future of #WebAssembly.

My wife & I have fantasized about moving to #AotearoaNZ or #Australia since well before the pandemic, and now we're actively trying make it happen. Since we're both in high-demand professions (she's a nurse), I think it should go reasonably smoothly 🤞. Feel free to get in touch with job opportunities that offer visa sponsorship, suggestions for #kiwiana or Australian culture that will help us adapt, reasons that your city is the best, etc. I always blow on the pie when I wear my jandals to the dairy. If we ship things over, I can only hope that the front doesn't fall off the boat. I hear that only rarely happens.

My daughter Juniper was born at the beginning of 2020, so her experience of life and my experience of parenthood are both tightly linked to the pandemic. On the upside, I get to work remotely, which means I get more time with her. She's a lot of fun (and of course a lot of work).

Then, we had our twins Heath & Magnolia (Noli) in September 2023, and our lives got even more hectic and full of love.

Juniper goes to a Waldorf school, and I wish I could go, too, but I think the adult version of Waldorf school might just be therapy.

So much for the will of the people: From Washington City Paper Answers 2025 issue:
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/759068/answers-issue-2025-dc/
#RankedChoiceVoting #InstantRunoffVoting #WashingtonDC

When will the D.C. Council vote on enacting Initiative 83?

Don’t hold your breath waiting on I-83, which would bring ranked choice voting to D.C. elections and open party primaries to independent voters.

Now that voters have passed the initiative, either Mayor Muriel Bowser or the Council need to find funding to implement it (likely about $2.7 million over the next four years). Neither has shown much of an interest in doing so, and Chair Phil Mendelson pointedly declined to commit to including money for it in the budget last month. Supportive councilmembers could try and find cash for it themselves, but it may be tough to manage over Mendelson’s staunch opposition.

Some lawmakers have floated the idea of pushing the initiative’s effective date to 2028, instead of the 2026 target preferred by pro-83 organizers, or somehow breaking it into multiple pieces as possible compromise measures. But it will likely take more pressure from activists to convince skeptical lawmakers to act. —AK

@DemocracyMattersALot
Sigh. True, but no one would have to worry about "#ProtestVotes" or #Spoilers if we just instituted nationwide #InstantRunoffVoting. 😞

No more spoilers.
No more costly endless primaries.
No more Two-Party system.
Greatly mitigates the influence of big money.

(#4 is the reason we don't have it.)

Vote "Yes"! Ranked Choice Voting Initiative 83 explained.
https://51st.news/ranked-choice-voting-explained-initaitive-83/
#DC #WashingtonDC #Election2024 #IRV #RCV #InstantRunoffVoting #RankedChoiceVoting #Initiative83 #news

@JenniferSlack
All we need to do is institute #InstantRunoffVoting nationwide.

No more primaries. A campaign season that last only months instead of years, and GREATLY mitigates the influence of big money in politics.

@msbellows
All we need to eliminate the "Two Party System" is #InstantRunoffVoting #IRV #RCV.

No more spoilers.
No more 2-party system.
Greatly mitigates the influence of #BigMoney in politics.
No more lengthy/costly Primaries.

It needs to be the law Nationally, but ten Red states have actually OUTLAWED #RCV/#IRV completely. You don't have to guess why. 😡

@GottaLaff

This is what would happen with #RankedChoiceVoting, also known as #InstantRunoffVoting, except it would save a lot of time and money.

We see that, though Burns was the top vote-getter, most people who voted against him would, if their top-choice candidate didn't make the top two, rather someone else other than Burns get the vote.

People are scared of Ranked Choice Voting "stealing the vote", but I think we'd get more acceptance if it's called #AutomaticRunoffVoting.

@br00t4c
#RankedChoiceVoting (aka #InstantRunoffVoting) saved a ton of money by eliminating the need for Primaries & Runoffs, mitigates the influence of Big Money, and eliminates #Spoilers & The Two-Party System.

But it cost Sarah #Palin the election when she ran for Congress in '22 (she received more "1st Choice" votes, but her opponent was the 2nd choice of more voters in a wide field of candidates, so she lost.)

#RCV: Less💲, more democratic, Repubs more likely to lose, so it must go.

In 2016 #ME passed Question 5, implementing #InstantRunoffVoting - the first state in the #USA to implement it in the 2018 election.

In 2020 #AK voters passed measure 2, & in 2022 Mary Peltola became the 1st non- #Republican Representative in 50 years, & the 1st #AlaskanNative ever in the #USCongress.

Opponents are in a court battle to get a repeal of measure 2 on the ballot for this fall.

Two states are considering ranked ballot - #OR & #NV. 9 #GOP states have outlawed it.

#uspol #vote2024

Fuck The Electoral College
https://deathkitten.net/en/blog/fuck-the-electoral-college
We're headed into a messy election season again. Granted, saying that about a US Election in my lifetime generally makes calling it messy a bit redundant, but I'm including it for emphasis. And once again I'm seeing people talking about voting third party. I am so fucking exhausted by this. Now, let me be clear — my exhaustion rests with my fellow white people. POC have by and large carried our less shitty ...
#Politics #Rant #FirstPastThePost #Biden #Trump #ThirdPartyCandidates #FuckJillStein #NationalPopularVote #RankedChoiceVoting #InstantRunoffVoting #MyFellowWhitePeopleExhaustMe

@tofugolem @BernieSanders
I don't know how you can say that. #IRV is the closest thing to a panacea when it comes to fixing our election system. It:

1) Ends the 2-Party system.

2) No more spoilers.

3) It *greatly* mitigates the influence of #BigMoney in politics thanks to shorter & less intense campaigns.

4) Elections become less "confrontational" (fewer attack ads) as candidates strive to be voter's *second* choice as well as first. #InstantRunoffVoting #RCV

@tofugolem
The quickest/easiest way to "get the money out of politics" is to simply adopt #IRV #InstantRunoffVoting for ALL elections.

This would totally eliminate the most costly part of running for office: "#Primaries" (followed by Runoffs.) No primaries also greatly shortens the time spent running for office, and the time spent by candidates fundraising.
#RCV #RankedChoiceVoting #ElectionReform #CitizensUnited #Congress #money @BernieSanders

Ultimately, whether it’s through party list PR or even proportional RCV, shifting the US away from single winner, winner take all elections/districts and toward multi-winner proportional elections requires changing the language to be less wordy to American English ears.

That’s why you hear #rankedchoicevoting and #instantrunoffvoting being used by @fairvote but not #SingleTransferableVote. #Elections #fairvote #uspol

(Porting my bookmarks):

The benefits of #RCV / #IRV are manifold:

1) No more (expensive/lengthy) Primaries.
2) No more spoilers. Winner always receives at least 50%+ of the vote.
3) No more 2-Party system.
4) GREATLY mitigates the influence of big money in politics.
5) Would make political debates/ads "nicer" as candidates try not to offend so they are at least someone's 2nd choice.
#InstantRunoffVoting

WITHOUT #RankedChoiceVoting / #InstantRunoffVoting, "#NoLabels" is simply a spoiler movement being funded & advanced by the #GOP.
#ThisWeek

@brienneofsnark
Unless your state has #RankedChoiceVoting or #InstantRunoffVoting, no one should vote 3rd Party.

#RCV / #IRV needs to be the Law of the Land:

o No more spoilers
o No more 2-party system.
o No more lengthy/costly primaries.
o Greatly mitigates the influence of big money in politics.
o Campaigns are friendlier as candidates strive not to offend so they're at least voter's 2nd choice. #FairVote

@MoiraEve @GreenFire
The benefits of #RCV / #IRV are manifold:

1) No more (expensive/lengthy) Primaries.
2) No more spoilers. Winner always receives at least 50%+ of the vote.
3) No more 2-Party system.
4) GREATLY mitigates the influence of big money in politics.
5) Would make political debates/ads "nicer" as candidates try not to offend so they are at least someone's 2nd choice.
#InstantRunoffVoting

@heuser @RememberUsAlways I agree with you that he didn't necessarily need to allow this (fossil fuel dependency need not be powered by U.S. fossil fuels), so I this as a blemish on his record, though I also agree with @RememberUsAlways that there's only one viable major party for climate progress in the US currently, and that's going to continue to be the case at least until we switch enough places away from #FirstPastThePost election systems to #RankedChoiceVoting (a.k.a. #InstantRunoffVoting).

I think it's less useful to see it as a "sin" than to just move onto the next battle, whether it be lawsuits against the project or otherwise.

#RCV fails to deliver diversity and broad choice in candidates, giving constituents only a short-term high.

https://www.newamerica.org/political-reform/reports/rcv-impact-on-candidate-entry-and-representation/

#RankedChoiceVoting #democracy #voting #votingReform #InstantRunoffVoting

#InstantRunoffVoting

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