Instant Runoff Voting is an essential element of electoral reform.

Our current system frequently forces voters to choose between 'the lesser of two evils,' because if they vote for a third candidate whom they actually prefer their vote will be simply thrown away if their candidate comes in last. This is true even if the 'winning' candidate ends up with less than a majority of the votes cast.

With Instant Runoff Voting, each voter ranks candidates in order of choice. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate who came in last is eliminated and the second choices from his or her ballots are allocated to the remaining candidates. The process is repeated until one candidate wins a majority of votes cast. This system is successfully used in national elections in Ireland and Australia, it has been adopted in parts of Great Britain, and it used in elections for many local offices in San Francisco CA, Cambridge MA, and Burlington Vt.

Instant Runoff Voting would insure that the winning candidate is actually preferred by a majority of voters, promote coalition-building and positive campaigning, and widen the political choices available to voters while eliminating concerns about spoiler candidates knocking off major candidates.