Instant Runoff Voting

City of Hendersonville

Authorized the State Board of Elections to conduct pilot programs among a limited number of local jurisdictions in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

North Carolina

Instant Runoff Pilot Program

SESSION LAW 2008-150

What Is Instant Runoff Voting?

Instant Runoff Voting combines the Primary and Election Day into one election. Voters will select their choices for the Mayor and two

City Council seats just as

they have done in

previous elections,

but they will also rank

the remaining candidates

in order of preference

in case the initial results

produce no clear winner.

∙ It saves taxpayers & candidates money by eliminating the costs associated with holding a primary.

∙ It ensures higher voter turnout than when voters are asked to return for a runoff.

• It makes government more representative with a winner chosen by more voters.
• It is ready to be administered securely and effectively by election officials.

Benefits of Instant Runoff Voting

Support for �Instant Runoff Voting

• Recommended by Robert’s Rules of Order.
• Used for Australia’s national elections since 1918.
• Has won the support of the League of Women Voters.
• Endorsed by major newspapers across the country including USA Today, Detroit Free Press, Seattle Times, & Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
• Endorsed locally by the Hendersonville Times-News (8/15/2007) as “a stroke of common sense.”
• In 2007, 86% of Hendersonville voters surveyed considered IRV “very easy to somewhat easy to understand.”

• Vermont: The city of Burlington began using IRV in mayoral elections in 2006 with 99.9% of voters casting a valid ballot.
• Arkansas, Louisiana, & South Carolina: Utilize IRV for overseas and/or out-of-state military voters.
• California: San Francisco began using IRV in 2004. The city expects to save at least $15 million over 10 years.
• Cities: Minneapolis and cities in CO, MD, MI and WA have adopted IRV.

Where Is Instant Runoff Voting Currently Used?

• Colleges: IRV is used for student elections at colleges such as Duke, Clemson, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. In fact, more than half of U.S. News’ top 30 universities use IRV.
• Political Scientists: The American Political Science Association uses IRV to elect its president.
• Awards: College football’s Heisman Trophy and the Academy Award nominees are selected by ranked voting methods.

… And There’s More

How Instant Runoff

Voting Works

STEP ONE: First Round of Counting

Voters select their top choices for the Mayor and two City Council seats just as they have done in previous elections. Following the election, the voters’ choices are tallied. If a candidate(s) gets enough votes to win, then they are declared the winner and no further counting is necessary.

How Instant Runoff

Voting Works

STEP TWO: Second Round of Counting

If one or both seats lack a candidate with enough votes to reach the majority threshold, the top candidates move into the instant runoff round. The winners are then determined by adding their first round totals to any alternate votes they receive in the second round. The candidate(s) with a majority of the votes after the two rounds of counting wins.

Hendersonville 2009 IRV Ballot

Page 1 (SAMPLE)

Hendersonville 2009 IRV Ballot

Page 2 (SAMPLE)

Hendersonville 2009 IRV Ballot

Page 3 (SAMPLE)

Hendersonville 2009 IRV Ballot

Page 4 (SAMPLE)

Voting the Demo Ballot

Voting the Demo Ballot

Voting the Demo Ballot

Voting the Demo Ballot

Voting the Demo Ballot

Voting the Demo Ballot

Voting the Demo Ballot

Henderson County Board of Elections

(828) 697-4970

Tom Wilson, Chairman

Betty Gash, Secretary

Joseph Abrell, Member

Beverly Cunningham, Director

NC State Board of Elections

(919) 733-7173

Gary O. Bartlett, Executive Director

Keith Long, Voting Systems Manager

​

District 1 Election Technician

Karen Brinson, (919) 816-6813

​

For More Information