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We know we cannot count on the corporate media to supply alternatives, so we have to take it upon ourselves (the WRIR lesson)….
As stated here previously, Paul Goldman deserves a lot of credit for almost single-handily obtaining the 10,000 signatures needed to make the City charter change for voting Mayor at large in the first place, but it’s past time for more electoral reform. We know we need to update and strengthen the City’s Board of Elections anyway, so we might as well join other cities around the world in enacting RCV/IRV.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) — also known as instant runoff voting (IRV) — makes our elections better by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference.

RCV is straightforward: Voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third and so forth. If your first choice doesn’t have a chance to win, your ballot counts for your next choice.

RCV works in all types of elections and supports more representative outcomes. RCV means better choices, better campaigns, and better representation. That’s why it’s the fastest-growing voting reform in the nation…

Except, of course, in decidedly unprogressive Richmond, VA, where City Council tossed it aside.

UVA, GMU, JMU, and Washington & Lee use it for their campus/student government elections, but VCU, UR, and VUU are still behind the times, despite the offered prize.

Anyway, back to challenging the status quo… Note that this is just a poll, of course, and that according to the current Mayoral election rules, the winner is not who wins the popular vote. It’s not who gets the most votes, it’s who gets the most votes out of five out of the nine City Council districts. Which does makes an expensive runoff election a distinct possibility… a problem that RCV could solve.

But for now, vote in this ‘mock election’. Just don’t forget the real stakes involved and tell your favorite candidate to do the required homework…