Replace Primary Elections

Problem: Many primary elections are plagued by low voter turnout and high taxpayer costs. States spend millions of dollars to hold primaries that are essentially private nominating processes for political parties. In jurisdictions with strong partisan leanings, these low turnout party primaries determine who will represent all voters from that district.

Solution: Under instant runoff voting, voters rank candidates in order of preference on a single ballot. If a candidate receives a majority of first choices, he or she is elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate with the fewest first choices is eliminated. Voters who ranked the eliminated candidate first now have their ballots added to the totals of their second choice. This process continues until one candidate earns a majority of votes against their remaining opponents.

With IRV, multiple candidates associated with a single political party are able to run in the general election without splitting their party's vote. Candidates are elected in a single, high turnout election, thereby strengthening democratic accountability. Parties can have a nomination process if they wish, but can pay for those primaries themselves.