Good To Know: Proposing A Run-Off Election

(WCCO) Election Day is just around the corner, and in many races, there will be more than one candidate. Don Shelby asks is a vote for a candidate who has no chance of winning, a vote thrown away?

The example most often used is the presidential run of Ralph Nader in 2000. Some say, if Nader hadn't done so well, the outcome would have been very different.

In three-way races, our governors haven't received a majority of the votes for a long time, meaning more people voted against the person elected, than voted for him. Still, no one suggests that third party candidates should not run.

To solve the problem, the instant run-off election is proposed. You merely vote for your first and second choice. If your first choice isn't one of the two top vote getters, and there is no majority, your second choice counts as your vote.

So, argue the proponents, no votes are ever, as they say, wasted. I thought you would find it good to know that the idea is coming to a legislature near you.