Litigation

Runoff Voting for NC Judgeship Gets Attention

By Peter Hardin

A new method called instant runoff voting will be used for the first time statewide in North Carolina, to elect an appeals court judge in November.

Thirteen candidates have filed to run for the seat, according to an Associated Press article. The method is getting watched by voting reform advocates across the country.

North Carolina is the first state to use this method in a statewide election “in the modern era,” the Center for Voting and Democracy stated in a commentary. It explained instant runoff voting this way:

“Voters will be able to rank their top three choices. If there is no clear majority winner within the first choices, the top two candidates receive the votes of any voter who did not vote for them but had them ranked as their second or third choice. By doing this, the winner of the election will be the candidate with majority support among voters who ranked at least as one of the two finalists.”

Its critics contend the system confuses voters, makes room for potential mischief in the count and necessitates intense voter education. Supporters say that when instant runoff voting is used, a potentially expensive and low-turnout runoff can be avoided.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 06, 2010 (boomark / email).