There was no talk of “spoilers” in Burlington’s recent mayoral election, which offered four strong candidates for the city’s top spot. The reason? Instant-runoff voting allowed voters to rank their preferences in order of choice.

Not everyone was happy with the outcome, of course, but thanks to IRV, Queen City contests will never approximate the Gore-Nader-Bush meltdown we saw in 2000. This is particularly important in a multiparty state like Vermont. Unfortunately, vocal opponents are spreading misconceptions about IRV.... Read more