[occupy-where-I-live:5546] Instant Runoff Voting (Jan. 7 meeting of SCC Citizens' Advisory Commission on Elections to discuss this) (fwd)

[Noelle <http://dummy.us.eu.org/noelleg>]

 > Date: Thu, 02 Jan 2014 09:08:09 -0800
 > From: Spencer Graves <http://www.prodsyse.com/~spencer.graves>
 > 
 >  Hello,  All:
 > 
 >         Are  you  familiar  with  Instant  Runoff  Voting  (IRV)?   This  is 
 >          a 
 >  voting  system  that  allows  people  first  to  vote  their  conscience  
 >  before 
 >  voting  for  the  lesser  evil.   As  such,  I  believe  it  is  more  
 >  democratic.  
 >  Its  supporters  claim  that  it  tends  to  improve  voter  turnout,  
 >  reduce 
 >  negative  campaigning,  and  contribute  to  more  democratic  governance.  
 >   It 
 >  is  being  used  in  San  Francisco  and  Oakland.   Santa  Clara  County  
 >  voters 
 >  approved  a  charter  amendment  in  1998  allowing  its  use  here  once  
 >  we  have 
 >  the  equipment.   We  now  have  the  same  equipment  as  Oakland  and  
 >  San 
 >  Francisco.   However,  some  administrative  hurdles  remain.
 > 
 >         IRV  is  on  the  agenda  for  the  meeting  next  Tuesday,  January 
 >          7,  of 
 >  the  6  PM  meeting  of  the  Santa  Clara  County  Citizens'  Advisory  
 >  Commission 
 >  on  Elections,  County  Government  Center,  Isaac  Newton  Senter  
 >  Auditorium 
 >  (1st  Floor),  70  W.  Hedding  Street,  where-I-live.  The  meeting  
 >  starts  at  6 
 >  PM;   this  will  likely  be  one  of  the  early  items  on  that  agenda. 
 >    The 
 >  more  people  who  appear  for  this  meeting  (and  speak  in  the  
 >  optional 
 >  comments  period),  the  more  likely  we  will  be  able  to  overcome  
 >  the 
 >  administrative  hurdles  and  make  Santa  Clara  County
 > 
 >         A  recent  blog  by  Cans  for  Electoral  Reform  (
 >  http://www.cfer.org ,http://www.cfer.org,  ) 
 >  mentions  that  Instant  Runoff  Voting  (IRV)  is  on  the  agenda  for  
 >  the 
 >  meeting  next  Tuesday,  January  7,  of  the  6  PM  meeting  of  the  
 >  Santa  Clara 
 >  County  Citizens'  Advisory  Commission  on  Elections,  County  Government 
 >  
 >  Center,  Isaac  Newton  Senter  Auditorium  (1st  Floor),  70  W.  Hedding 
 >  Street,  where-I-live.   The  meeting  starts  at  6  PM;   this  will  
 >  likely  be 
 >  one  of  the  early  items  on  that  agenda.
 > 
 >         The  discussion  will  include  an  open  comment  period  where  
 >         people 
 >  are  invited  to  make  brief  comments.   If  many  people  want  to  
 >  comment, 
 >  they  are  limited  to  1  minute  (roughly  150  words);   if  only  a  
 >  few  wish  to 
 >  comment,  the  limit  is  usually  2  minutes  (roughly  300  words).
 > 
 >         Hope  to  see  you  all  there.   I  plan  to  bring  a  prepared  
 >         statement 
 >  of  roughly  150  words  (and  maybe  one  of  300  words  in  case  I  get 
 >   2 
 >  minutes)  with  a  paper  copy  to  hand  to  the  clerk.
 > 
 >         Best  Wishes,
 >         Spencer
 > 

 >  San  José,  CA  95126
 >  ph:   408-655-4567
 >  web:  
 >  http://www.structuremonitoring.com
 >  ,http://www.structuremonitoring.com,