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Sunday, September 19, 2010

2 Simple Rules for Voters in Instant Runoff Voting for NC Court of Appeals









TWO SIMPLE RULES FOR IRV VOTING:
1. Voters must not rank the same candidate twice, and
2. Use strategy, make or follow endorsements, rank potential winners only, vote for at least 2!

Read further to learn how to avoid having your vote be a total shot in the dark.

1. MARKING YOUR BALLOT

Do not rank the same candidate more than once!
You can rank up to 3 DIFFERENT candidates out of the 13
Ranking a candidate more than once means your 2nd and 3rd choices will not count! The voting machine is not set up for IRV so it will not warn you if you make a mistake in ranking.

2. STRATEGY

Statewide endorsements and or sample ballots are a must.
This election will either be a crap shoot or it will be decided by the most effective endorsements. The endorsements should keep in mind that if there is a runoff, only the 2 candidates with the most votes will advance. Vote for 2 choices at least. If you fail to rank either of the 2 candidates, you wil not have a say in the "runoff".

Who should you rank 1st, 2nd or 3rd? With IRV, a candidate may win by getting the most 2nd choice votes. Keep that in mind as you head to the polls.

Stay with the pack to win. Basically there must be a statewide strategy where everyone stays in line behind one particular candidate and then rank an additional candidate who also is qualified or has a reasonable chance of getting votes.

EXPERTS ADVICE ON HOW TO RANK EFFECTIVELY:

a) Voters should vote for party favorite and or their own personal favorite.
Dale Sheldon-Hess, an expert on various election methods advises:
The voters, if they have a preferred party, should name their party's candidate first; or, if they're ABSOLUTELY certain there's no chance of them winning, name their personal-favorite candidate first, and the party favorite second.

b) Rank only candidates you think will get enough votes to make the runoff:
Professor Steven J Brams, a Professor of Politics and Election Method expert advises:
The only sensible strategy is not to rank high candidates one knows and prefers but only candidates one prefers who might make the runoff. If one votes for others, the probability that your vote will be transferred to your preferred of the two front runners is slim.

Steven J. Brams Phone: (212) 998-8510
Dept. of Politics FAX: (212) 995-4184
19 West 4th St., 2nd Floor E-mail: steven.brams@nyu.edu
New York University
New York, NY 10012

Voter education, endorsements, videos, and handing out palm cards at the polling places would be helpful.

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